Adopted
by Ares.Granger
Summary: An innocuous letter from Theo Nott to his father alters Hermione Granger's life forever. Begins in second year, will continue beyond that. AU, focuses primarily on the siblings
1. Nott to the Rescue!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any IP, trademarks, etc. etc. pertaining to HP. JKR owns them, I just play with them. (although I claim ownership of Alexander Nott as he's not the Nott Sr. mentioned in the books)**

 **A/N: This is my other fic inspired by 'The Muddy Princess' by Colubrina. Only this time it starts in 2nd year, and Theo's father is a good man (his grandfather was the Death Eater). While 'Savior' answered what if Hermione learned in 5th-6th year that she was a Nott, this fic is about what if Theo's father wasn't a Death Eater and reunited his children sooner.**

 **Now, there's no pairing for this story as of yet. It's really mostly about Hermione & Theo as siblings and Hermione's relationship with her biological family and how this would change events in the books so far (never say never, after all). Everything is canon up until the point at which this fic begins, and everything is AU in this fic (obviously). I'm also uploading the first two chapters together as I think they should be enjoyed one right after the other, no waiting.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was a letter from his son that had Alexander Nott rushing up to Hogwarts. A letter from his son Theo about a girl, Hermione Granger, being in the hospital wing. Petrified by Slytherin's monster. He blustered and threatened his way to the infirmary to find the girl bedridden. As soon as he laid eyes on her he was furious. "What is being done to find that blasted beast?! What are you doing to save her?" He demanded of Poppy Pomfrey.

"Mr. Nott you have no business being here," Dumbledore said as he entered the room.

Alexander whirled on the old man, "My daughter is lying in that bed petrified and you claim I have no business here?!"

Dumbledore was dumbfounded. He swallowed thickly and blustered, "You seem confused, Mr. Nott. That is Hermione Granger."

"I know what her name is," Nott snarled. "My wife chose it." He tossed a document at him and sat down by her bedside, "Now answer my questions or go away. And I want my son brought up here."

Poppy hated people telling her what to do in her infirmary but frankly she was rather curious about the wait time for the potion and the lack of action in stopping the creature from attacking students. She would give Nott some leeway as he was asking the hard questions and there was no one else speaking up for these students. Poppy respected the headmaster but she was certain if it was a pureblood student more would be done to protect them. Albus was too complacent, she thought. "I'll have an elf get young Mr. Nott up here," she informed him. "Albus will have to answer your questions though," she added, walking to her office to call for an elf to get Theo. She'd leave those two men to it. Her only patients were the petrified children, ghost, and cat.

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Dumbledore read the document. It was a birth certificate for Hermione Olympias Nott with her mother and father's names both visible. A wave of his wand verified the document was genuine. He gazed at the man. "I don't see how this is possible."

"Of course you don't," Nott snapped. "It's none of your business. Now answer my questions or my first call is to the school board of governors."

"The monster always manages to leave unseen after an attack," Dumbledore said, "and the mandrakes will take a long time to mature."

"You can get the potion to wake them up easily," Nott glared at the old man. "Yet you haven't. Would you have bought it if it was Harry Potter that was petrified? Or maybe one of the Weasley children?"

At Dumbledore's silence he had his answer. Nott gazed at his daughter to stop himself from throttling the man. She looked so much like his wife when she was younger but that only slightly calmed his temper, "Get out of my sight old man."

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Snape arrived with Theo after Dumbledore had left, "Mr. Nott."

"Theo," Alexander smiled as he looked up to see his son.

"Why are you here?" Theo asked, confused.

"I would be nowhere else when my daughter is attacked," Alexander answered, gazing at Hermione.

"Daughter?" Theo's eyes widened. Snape blinked in surprise. Then he looked at Hermione. She did look like Aurelia Nott, now that he thought about it. The hair was probably the first clue. But he'd never put it together until that moment. "She's my sister?"

"Your mother and I were betrothed but I messed up and didn't cast the spell to prevent conception. She got pregnant. We decided to have the baby but smuggle her out of our world so our parents wouldn't find out. If they had…" He shook his head, "if they had learned of Hermione then your mother very well could have been killed. She had an aunt who also got pregnant out of wedlock. She was killed for it. So we hid the pregnancy from the world and when it was time, she took a 'vacation' but instead we went to the muggle world in Greece. She gave birth in a muggle hospital. Hermione was born and after a few days we could take her home. So I took Hermione into the muggle world in England to some muggles I had found several months prior."

Snape stood silently, taking it in. Then he spoke, "If Miss Granger, or rather Miss Nott, is pureblood then this monster hardly targets just muggleborns."

Theo stared at the girl who was his sister, "The monster keeps targeting people who irritate Potter. But she doesn't irritate him. Without her he'd probably fail all his classes." He looked at his father, "Why didn't you tell me about her?"

"The Grangers took good care of her. Loved her. It felt cruel to take their child from them."

"But she's my sister."

"You know now," Alexander said. "Severus I want her to have the potion immediately."

"Your daughter would want the others to wake up quickly as well," the potions master said. "She has a very strong sense of justice and equality."

Nott looked at the ghost of Sir Nicholas, "How the devil would you even give a potion to a ghost?"

"You can't," Snape answered. "For Sir Nicholas, I daresay it will simply take time."

"How quickly can you use your contacts to acquire the necessary amount?"

"Very quickly," Snape nodded. "It will cost you."

"Money is no object," he said, sitting down next to his daughter's bed and taking her hand in his. "I'm not letting my little girl down again."

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It took Snape two days to acquire enough of the drought for every child & Mrs. Norris. Alexander didn't leave Hogwarts during that time, staying by his daughter's bedside. He wondered if his daughter could hear him in that state. In the hopes that she could, he told her about her mother and about himself and promised to never abandon her again.

Theo came by many times to sit with his sister, quickly wrapping his head around the fact that Hermione Granger of Gryffindor was in fact his sister. When Snape finally arrived the third morning after Alexander's arrival with the potion he brought Theo with him. Dumbledore was soon in the room, "I will not let you dose these children," he informed the Nott patriarch.

Alexander wasn't bothered. If Dumbledore wanted to invite public scorn that was his business, "Fine. My daughter is getting the potion whether you like it or not."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed in anger but he held his tongue and left the hospital wing. Sadly, the old headmaster was unable to stop Nott from dosing Hermione. But he could stop him from dosing the others and intended to do just that. They'd wake up once the mandrakes had matured and the drought could be created and that was that.

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Snape administered the drought to Hermione and Madame Pomfrey monitored the girl's vitals. Silence fell over the room until Hermione let out a gasp and tried to sit up, "No no dear, stay down," Pomfrey said gently.

Alexander carefully pushed her back down onto the bed. "Relax sweetheart," he said, kneeling next to the bed as he pushed her down so that they were at eye level.

Hermione gazed at him. "I have your eyes," she finally said.

Snape and Pomfrey's eyes widened. They'd not expected her to be able to hear anything while petrified. Alexander's eyes widened but he smiled, "Yes you do. And from what I hear from Theo, you also have my temper. The intellect is all your mother though. She went to a school in the Mediterranean, being from Greece originally. Best in her year. She was taken from us far too soon."

She coughed and rubbed her throat, "I'm thirsty." Alexander poured her a glass of water from the bedside pitcher and, helping her sit up in the bed, he helped her drink as her hands shook when she tried to take the glass from him. Snape watched. It was not a sight unfamiliar to him. He'd been the one Alexander had turned to for help when Aurelia had fallen ill.

Hermione studied the man who was her biological father as she drank the water. She had known she was adopted since she was seven years old, but never had she imagined that she would be the daughter of a well-known pureblood family. Let alone have a brother just eleven months younger than her. For the past two and a half days since her birth father's arrival she'd had plenty of time to think and ultimately she found herself not averse to being a Nott. And she certainly wanted to get to know her biological family.

She wasn't so sure how Theo felt about it though. She'd never talked to him before so she wasn't sure of his views on so-called blood status or muggles. But Hermione doubted their father hated muggles if he'd opted to leave her with them to keep her safe as he'd said.

Alexander sat the glass down and adjusted her pillows so she could sit up in the bed, "You look so much like Aurelia. She'd be very proud of you. Smartest witch in your year despite not even knowing you were a witch for most of your life."

Hermione smiled, wondering how her biological mother had died but not comfortable asking such a thing so soon. "Mr. Nott, I need to examine your daughter," Poppy Pomfrey said gently. Alexander nodded and squeezed Hermione's hand before stepping back to let the witch examine her.

Since she'd only been out for five days total, the damage to Hermione was minor, much to Alexander and Theo's relief. "What about the others?" Hermione asked. She'd heard Dumbledore refuse to let them be treated but she didn't understand why.

"Professor Dumbledore will not permit them to be treated despite your father buying enough potion for all of them," Madame Pomfrey answered.

"But that's ridiculous," Hermione frowned.

"That's what happens to muggleborns," the mediwitch sighed sadly, "The headmaster claims guardianship as their parents are muggles and can't help."

"So I would have been stuck like that for months?" Hermione asked, eyes widening in horror.

"But for your father's intervention, yes. Even that Albus tried to block," Snape snarled. He didn't like the students being petrified any more than Poppy did but he was frustratingly powerless to intervene. "Do you remember anything about your attack?"

Hermione sat in thought, "I remember the eyes. They were big and yellow and…a flash of red. Not attached to the eyes. Just something I saw in the mirror." Her brow furrowed in thought as she tried to remember, "Red hair. It was red hair."

"So the perpetrator is a redhead," Snape said.

"Yes," Hermione nodded.

"Did the redhead say anything?"

"In Parseltongue," she said. "I remember thinking how odd because supposedly only Harry could speak it but the mirror didn't show their face. I think they must have been short because I didn't have the mirror aimed all that high."

The girl might have just woken up but she had to know something and this was the closest they'd come to discovering anything at all about the attacks so Snape pressed, "How short?"

Hermione frowned in thought. The potions master looked at Theo, who was average height for a second year boy, "Taller than Theo? Or shorter?"

Hermione looked at her brother. It was weird to think of him as her brother. Before he was just the quiet Slytherin boy who was really good in Potions and Transfiguration. "Shorter," she answered. "The hair was moving but it looked like it was long. Long and straight."

"Long, straight red hair shorter than Theo," Snape mused. There were only five or six students who fit that description, "Could you tell if they were a boy or a girl?"

Hermione was silent in thought as she thought about the hissing she had heard shortly before being petrified. "It was…it was a girl. The hissing from the human was higher pitched than the basilisk. Slytherin's monster is actually a basilisk. And it's been traveling through the school using the pipes."

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Alexander asked.

"Because Harry speaks Parsel and he's heard voices in the walls," Hermione explained. "So it had to be a snake. And you die if you look it in the eye directly but everyone's seen only its reflection. That's why I had the mirror out."

"Definitely your mother's intellect," Alexander beamed.

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Madame Pomfrey gazed at the victims of the basilisk. "Severus, what if we asked Argus about Mrs. Norris?"

"The old man certainly couldn't complain," the potions master answered. "I'll go find him. No one is allowed to leave the infirmary without supervision," he added. "I think I might let slip in front of some gossipy paintings that despite the headmaster's interference in getting her treatment, Miss Granger is awake. That should start making things interesting."

"But then people will know Hermione is awake," Alexander frowned, "which means her attacker will know. That would put her in further harm's way, Severus. I can't allow that."

"She'll be protected," he assured the worried father. "Trust me, I know you're concerned and rightly so. But I think we should set a trap in which we control the environment. The perpetrator has been going after those who upset Potter. Since the girl she was found with has never even spoken to him, it is obvious that Miss Granger was the target. And since she hasn't upset Potter that means there was another motive behind the attack. Maybe Miss Granger is in the attacker's way. Maybe she sees Miss Granger as a romantic rival."

"The Weasley girl sent that horrid Valentine to Potter," Theo offered. "And she's always blushing around him when he looks in her direction."

Hermione gasped, "Ginny…but I don't understand why she'd go after me."

"You're the only female close to Potter," Theo answered. "It's like Professor Snape said. She sees you as a romantic rival. Killing you gets you out of the picture and since the Weasel is Potter's best friend, surely that means Weaslette can get closer to him in his time of mourning. Your death is her benefit."

"But how could she speak Parsel?" Hermione asked. Theo made sense, actually. But her question was the sticking point.

"Witches and wizards that can speak Parseltongue tend to hide it," Snape shrugged. "Being able to talk to snakes is seen as being dark. You might as well wear an 'I love Voldemort' t-shirt."

Alexander remained adamant, "You are not using my daughter as bait. She was nearly killed by that thing once. There will not be a second time."

Hermione was amazed at just how fiercely protective he was of her. "I want to help," she told him.

"I'm not losing you," Alexander frowned. "Losing your mother was hard enough. I'm not losing my children as well."

"What if you just followed her?" Theo asked his head of house. "At some point she'll lead you right to the basilisk," he reasoned. He didn't like the idea of his sister being bait either. It had been shocking to learn he even had a sister, let alone her being the muggleborn witch who was the best in their class and had been nearly killed by a basilisk. But since learning that she was his sister, Theo had become very protective of her. He'd punched Malfoy the day before when he'd been laughing about Hermione being in the infirmary. Theo had found that quite satisfying.

Theo had always been a loner. In fact, he only had one friend at Hogwarts; Blaise Zabini. So the knowledge that he had a sister, someone he would have a connection to, was really rather exciting. Theo looked at Hermione. She was studying him. Snape spoke, "You three can discuss options. I need to find Argus."

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Once the three were alone Hermione gazed at the man who was her father, "I have so many questions…"

"I'm sure you do," Alexander nodded. "And I promise you that I will answer all of them as much as I'm able. But for now, I refuse to let you put yourself in harm's way to discover the identity of your attacker."

"What was it like being petrified?" Theo asked.

"I could hear everything," Hermione said. "And when you held my hand," Hermione looked at her biological father, "I could feel your hand in mine."

Alexander smiled and took her hand in his, "I am sorry we had to give you up. But Aurelia and I could not take you back from the Grangers once it was safe. We saw how happy you were with them, and how well they were raising you. A year or so after we had Theo she got sick and my time was spent caring for her the next two years before she died."

"I love my parents," Hermione said. "They have always been so great to me. You gave me a really happy childhood and a really wonderful life leaving me with the Grangers."

"I have kept tabs on you. After Aurelia died I decided to have her personal elf keep an eye on you and protect you if anything happened while you were at the Grangers," he admitted. "They raised you better than I could have ever imagined."

Hermione looked him in the eye, "I want to help stop the attacks. I don't want anyone else getting hurt. It's a miracle that no one has died yet."

"I'm not leaving you," Alexander frowned.

"You could hide," she reasoned. "The crow of a rooster is deadly to a basilisk. So if you could transfigure something into a rooster when the basilisk arrived…"

"Killing the monster who hurt my little girl _is_ an appealing thought," he conceded after a few moments of silence. "I will agree only if I am present. I'm not letting anyone hurt you."

"What about me?" Theo protested. "I'm not leaving here while my sister is in harm's way. I'm your brother. I have to protect you."

"I'm older than you," Hermione pointed out.

"Only by eleven months," Theo responded, frowning. "I've heard loads of rumors about stuff that happened last year with a troll and then you going to face down You-Know-Who with Potter. And I know you've been up here already this year."

Hermione blushed, "I had an incident with polyjuice."

"How did you get polyjuice?" Alexander asked.

"I brewed it," she answered. At his incredulous look she explained, "See, Harry and Ron were convinced that Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin so to get into the Slytherin common room and question him I brewed polyjuice. But the hair I used was a cat hair so that was why I was up here."

"You thought Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin?" Theo looked at her, baffled by that reasoning.

Hermione shook her head, "No _I_ didn't. The boys did. I thought he might know something."

"Why would Draco Malfoy be the heir of Slytherin?" Alexander asked. "The Malfoys are French. Merlin, the first one didn't even arrive in England until about a hundred years after Hogwarts was founded; by then Salazar Slytherin was dead. Draco's mother was a Black and the Black family didn't even exist when Slytherin was alive. But regardless, if either of those two families had somehow married into the Slytherin line they'd have been bragging about it ever since," Alexander added, "I know you met Lucius Malfoy before the school year began. Surely you saw how pompous and obnoxious he is? Does he seem the type to hide a genetic link to a founder?"

Hermione blushed, ashamed she hadn't thought about any of that. "Basically your friends decided Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin and behind these attacks that all conveniently go after people annoying Potter simply because they hate him. Then they roped you into helping them prove it because they're both idiots," Theo frowned. He despised Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter.

"There were much easier and less dangerous ways to find out if he was Slytherin's heir," Alexander shook his head. "I don't like you putting yourself in dangerous situations like this. The Grangers might not understand our world but I do."

Hermione bit her lip. If she were honest, she did depend on her parents not understanding things. She'd told her parents that the over 9 foot tall troll was about the size of a goblin, not wanting them to pull her out of school as she knew they would if they knew the truth. Alexander took her hand in his, "I will acquiesce to this but after this event, you are going to be much more careful. Twice in two years I've nearly lost you. I'm not going to allow a third time."

Hermione was surprised at how nice it felt to have him both scolding her and vowing to protect her at the same time. Although to be honest in the magical world she'd never really had that parental presence before. It felt good, her biological father caring about her safety. "I'll be more careful," she promised.

"Thank you," he said.


	2. Basilisk Be Gone!

When Snape returned with Filch the Nott family got to see the caretaker reunited with his cat after Snape administered the potion to Mrs. Norris. Then it was time to discuss the plan. First, Snape would speak loudly to let it be overheard by portraits or nosy students that Hermione was awake as he headed to lunch. When the culprit came for Hermione again, they would kill the beast and catch the witch who was controlling it. Madame Pomfrey would move the victims to a safe place within the hospital wing while Snape and Alexander Nott disillusioned themselves and hid in the room.

With that settled a house elf brought Hermione a change of clothes and Madame Pomfrey had lunch brought up for them to eat. She disliked the plan but did agree something had to be done. At least they could protect the students in this manner.

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On his way to the Great Hall Snape made a point to say out loud around the portraits that Hermione Granger had awoken from her petrification. And at lunch he made a point of saying it to Sprout, who he was sitting near. It had been agreed upon by Madame Pomfrey, Snape, and Alexander Nott that when Potter and Weasley came to the hospital wing to see Hermione (though they wouldn't be allowed to) it was a certainty that the rest of Gryffindor and the suspected attacker would learn about Hermione's recovery.

Hermione understood their rationale. Harry and Ron would be furious they couldn't see her and complain loudly about it; especially Ron as he had zero volume control. Although to be honest, she was rather okay with not seeing Harry and Ron at the moment. She didn't think either one would take well to the news that she was a Nott and Theo was her brother. Harry and Ron were hardly civil to the Slytherins of Hogwarts. And while that dislike went both ways, she could admit that Harry and Ron did have a habit of starting things with Slytherin students. They were always quick to blame anyone in Slytherin for the horrible things that had happened at Hogwarts since they arrived.

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Over lunch Hermione and Theo talked privately, getting to know one another, while their father helped Madame Pomfrey with moving the petrified students to a place they'd be safe. Hermione shifted uncomfortably and Theo frowned, "Are you okay?"

"I really need to use the bathroom," she blushed.

"I can help you up," he offered, standing and helping her swing her legs over the side of the bed, "Can you stand?"

"I might be shaky but I think so," Hermione said, leaning heavily on Theo as she stood. After a few seconds to settle herself on her feet they slowly made their way to the bathroom, Theo's arm around her waist and one of her arms around his waist. Theo helped her into the bathroom before stepping outside to wait.

When Theo got her back to the bed Hermione felt very tired. "I think I need to nap for a bit," she yawned as Theo sat on the bed next to her.

"I'll be here when you wake up," he promised her. "I always wanted a sister," he smiled at her.

Hermione smiled back, "I always wanted a brother." She closed her eyes and fell asleep easily. She felt safe in Theo's presence.

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Theo gazed at her. They really did look similar. It wasn't immediately obvious, but then Theo knew he took after his father in looks and Hermione was said to look just like Aurelia Nott, their mother. He felt his father's hand on his shoulder, "She needed a nap. Going to the bathroom exhausted her."

"A side effect of the potions she's been given," Alexander stared at his daughter's small frame. She looked so much like her mother it was almost haunting. "How do you feel about having a sister?"

"I love it," Theo grinned. "Can she spend the summer with us?"

"Hopefully at least some of it," Alexander answered. "It is up to her and the Grangers if she does." Theo looked hopefully at his sister. Showing her the grounds and the Nott library would be brilliant. How would he get her to say yes? Alexander, meanwhile, was already plotting how best to get the Grangers to let him spend time with his daughter. Having spent the morning with her already, he wanted more time with her. He desperately wanted to make up for giving her up. To answer every question she likely had and get to know who she was. And show her where she came from.

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Hermione woke some hours later to shouting. From what she could hear it sounded like Harry and Ron. Theo put his finger to his lips and she listened, "Madame Pomfrey you have to let us in!"

"No I do not young man," the mediwitch sounded very testy. "Miss Granger needs all the rest she can get and you two screaming in my infirmary is not conducive to that. Now go back to your dorm. You're not supposed to be out in the halls unsupervised."

Silence fell and soon Madame Pomfrey was at the end of her bed, "I'm sorry if they woke you dear. Mr. Weasley needs his hearing checked I think."

Hermione smiled at that before turning thoughtful, "I guess it won't be long before the whole school knows I'm awake."

"I think all of Gryffindor will know first," Theo said. "Weasley can't keep a secret."

She looked at Theo, "Why do you hate them?"

"They hate me," he responded. "I hear the mutterings of Weasley when I pass him in the hall. Calling me evil, a Death Eater; all because I'm a Slytherin. Prat even told me I was Slytherin's heir and threatened me if anything happened to any more muggleborns earlier this year. I laid him out in the corridor. He's resumed muttering behind my back since then. I really don't understand why you're friends with him."

Hermione grimaced. Ron's lack of manners and inability to get along with others isolated Harry from their peers, in her opinion, and she wasn't entirely sure it wasn't intentional on Ron's part. "Well if he can't handle me being a Nott I doubt I'll be friends with him for very long. And if he still wants to be friends, he better quit picking on my brother or I will sic the twins on him. Although I might do that anyway," she added. Ron could stand being taken down a few pegs. Maybe she should tell Harry privately about her being a Nott. He might react better if Ron wasn't around to voice his disdain for all things Slytherin.

With that decision made she shifted in the bed, "Do you need anything?" Alexander asked.

"I'd like to sit up again," Hermione answered.

"We can help with that," he said, leaning forward to adjust her pillows. "You only have to ask."

"This just seems so surreal to me," Hermione said. "I mean, I knew I was adopted but I never dreamed that it was from a wizarding family or that I would have a brother about my age."

"So they told you," Alexander said, very interested in her life with the Grangers.

"When I was old enough to understand, yes," Hermione nodded. "They told me that my birth parents had had to give me up so they'd picked the Grangers to give me to."

"Not a lie," Alexander smiled. "I found them. Aurelia told me who we should look for, what type of people. The Grangers were the only option once I'd met them."

Hermione smiled. "They're wonderful parents. I love them."

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Hermione spent the afternoon telling her brother and father about her childhood and her parents. Alexander had pictures of their mother with him and showed them to her. She was struck by just how much she looked like Aurelia Nott. It was more than a passing resemblance. She had another nap before dinner, which was when Theo had to leave. He refused until Hermione suggested he could listen and see if word of her recovery was spreading. With a task to accomplish Theo begrudgingly left the hospital wing, leaving Hermione alone with her father.

As they ate she thought about something she'd wondered since learning he was their father. "Were you ever a Death Eater?" She asked.

Alexander swallowed his food. He'd been expecting that question since she woke up, "I was not. My father, your grandfather, was. Aurelia's parents were muggle haters but not Death Eaters. That was part of the reason we hid you in the muggle world. We knew that none of them would be able to find you as they couldn't get around the muggle world." To prove his point he rolled up his sleeves to reveal no Dark Mark, "I was brought up with that dogma but Aurelia never wanted me to take the mark. She drew a line in the sand, told her parents there would be no marriage if I became a Death Eater. They included it in our betrothal contract to hold my father accountable."

"So you hated my parents before you left me with them?" Hermione asked, trying to understand the situation her parents had been in and their mindsets at the time.

Alexander tilted his head thoughtfully, "I don't know that I hated them. I never knew any muggles or muggleborns. I was quite isolated as a child. I was raised to hate them but given how sheltered I was I don't think I could say that I actually hated them. I would have said I did if asked of course; my father was terrifying. "

"Did you raise Theo to hate muggles?" She asked. She actually didn't know much about Theo before learning he was her brother so she was unsure of his views on the subject of blood prejudice.

Alexander took a breath before answering a hard question, "I should explain how we ended up giving you up first. It was nearly a year before our wedding when Aurelia got pregnant with you. She had an aunt who got pregnant out of wedlock. Her parents had killed her for bringing shame onto the family. They were quite horrible people," he explained. It was best she know the full story. His actions would make much more sense once Hermione understood their situation, "When Aurelia and I decided the best place to hide you was in the muggle world, we both wanted to learn about them as much as we could. You were our daughter, even if we couldn't keep you, and we wanted to be sure the people caring for you would do so properly."

He paused and licked his lips, "I was shocked by how much they weren't like what I'd always been told they were. It was awkward and slow, learning about the muggle world, but by the time Aurelia was six months pregnant I knew enough to start my research of couples. I started with the Grangers. They were a couple, almost ten years older than Aurelia and me, who'd been trying to have a child for most of that ten year age gap. It was obvious to me that they were serious about having a child and that giving you to them would be safe. They were ordinary muggles, unaware of our magical world and without any contact whatsoever with wizards, and that made them a very safe option for us. Aurelia agreed with me and we went to meet them. We tweaked our story because we knew that getting pregnant out of wedlock was not quite the scandal for the Grangers that it was for us. We said we came from highly conservative religious families and our parents would disown us, or worse, if they knew Aurelia was pregnant before marriage. They agreed to take you once you were born. When Aurelia went into labor we were on 'vacation' in Greece. I took her to a muggle hospital so her parents wouldn't find out."

Hermione took all of that in, "And then you took me to the Grangers?"

"Once you and your mother were given the all clear by the doctors. We returned to England and I took you to the Grangers. I told them we'd named you Hermione Olympias Nott and I would hope that they'd keep your first name at least. Aurelia named you as soon as she held you in her arms." Hermione saw the tears in her father's eyes as he remembered his late wife. She felt bad for him, losing his wife as a young father and forced to raise Theo on his own. It was obvious how much he'd loved their mother and how much he missed her. He smiled at her, "To answer your question, though, while Theo knows almost nothing about the muggle world I never raised him to hate them. Your mother and I were raised in fear and we didn't want our children to have that same horrible childhood."

Hermione smiled at that before asking the harder question. "Why did you have Theo so soon after me?"

"After we gave you up Aurelia felt horrible. She called it soul-crushing, handing you to someone else to raise. So after we got married a month after your birth I thought maybe having another child might at least soothe her guilt. Theo was born healthy, but Aurelia got sick shortly after. She was never the same," Alexander shook his head to clear it, "My father died two years ago; Dragon Pox. Aurelia's parents died this past summer. I wanted to reunite you and Theo sooner, but honestly I was afraid of what they would have done to you or the Grangers if they learned of your existence. They were all three terrible people."

Hermione took that information in before speaking, "I want to get to know you and Theo. Maybe I can show you my world and you can show me yours this summer?"  
Alexander was internally relieved. This was what he'd wanted, although he'd not known how to approach the subject with Hermione. Instead he'd been content just to talk to his daughter and spend time with her while he could here at Hogwarts. "I would love that," he said sincerely. "Theo would too."

Hermione felt very good about that. She wanted to give him a chance. She really did. Now that she knew the story of how she came to be put up for adoption, she found she rather understood their decisions. Hermione was fairly certain that it would be difficult, straddling both worlds with her adoptive parents being muggles and her biological father and brother being purebloods, but she was determined to manage it.

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Theo had barely sat down for dinner when he heard people saying that Hermione Granger was awake and Potter and Weasley had been barred entry to see her. He was quite pleased it spread so quickly. He couldn't tell people she was his sister yet but as soon as the basilisk was killed and the perpetrator caught, that would change. Then he could spend time with his sister, which Theo desperately wanted. Get to know her before they parted ways over the summer. That kind of hurt to think about, honestly. He only had a month and a half with Hermione before classes were over and they left Hogwarts for the summer.

As he ate he studied the Great Hall's occupants. When his eyes landed on Ginny Weasley he had to suppress an urge to hex the stupid witch who'd attacked his sister. He wanted revenge. But he had to keep calm and simply play the role of spy. That was what he would do. He wanted his sister to see someone she could depend on when she looked at him, and letting his temper override his rational brain wouldn't do.

Blaise Zabini sat down opposite him, "Hey mate. Haven't seen you around much since you broke Malfoy's nose."

"I've been busy," Theo said.

"Well you're missing out on the latest gossip," Blaise said as he put food on his plate, "Granger woke up according to the rumors. Potter and Weasley went to see her and Madame Pomfrey threw them out on their arses. They're furious so I'd say those rumors are true."

Theo looked toward Potter and Wesley. They did both look angry; though if he was honest there was a hint of sorrow on Potter's features. Well that would make people believe the rumors. Good. But he had to play it cool, "Well they do depend on her to do everything for them. They're both bloody useless otherwise."

Blaise laughed, "That's true!"

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Hermione wrote a letter to her parents after she'd finished her meal, telling them about the situation and how Alexander Nott had come to her rescue with the potion. She added a fair bit about Dumbledore stopping the muggleborn students from being treated immediately, hoping they'd understand how good her biological father had been to buy enough potion for everyone harmed and also how long she'd have been stuck petrified but for his intervention.

Alexander added his own short note expressing his gratitude that they'd raised Hermione so well and his desire to have her spend at least some time with him and Theo to get to know her before the two were sent off to the Grangers via owl. "I still dislike this plan," Alexander said, taking her hand in his.

"But it's the best way to stop her," Hermione said. "I want Hogwarts to be safe."

"With Dumbledore in charge I doubt it ever will be," Alexander muttered. He despised the headmaster.

Hermione looked at her father, "Do you think Harry could come visit? I want to tell him about all this. He knows I'm adopted and I want him to know I'm okay."

Alexander was personally relieved that she didn't ask for Weasley. He had not been amused by the youngest Weasley boy's demands to see Hermione earlier, as though he owned her. He was also realizing that denying his daughter anything she wanted was difficult. He wanted her to be happy. "I'll see if Madame Pomfrey can get Potter here later this evening."

"Thank you," Hermione smiled at him.

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About an hour before curfew Harry was informed by Professor McGonagall that Madame Pomfrey would permit him to see Hermione provided he kept his voice down as she was still quite weak. Elated at the prospect of getting to see his friend, Harry didn't even ask why Ron wasn't invited. He just walked with his head of house to the infirmary, eager to see Hermione awake. Her petrification had scared him.

In the infirmary Hermione was sitting in her bed with a man he didn't recognize sitting next to her talking to her quietly. Sitting on the other side of Hermione was a boy in a Slytherin uniform. Harry thought his last name was Nott. He was confused why Nott would be sitting on Hermione's bed with her.

Harry's eyes moved to Hermione. She was awake. The other two people near her left his mind as he hurried over to the bed, "Hermione! I was so scared when they said you were attacked. I thought you'd died," Harry hovered near the edge of the bed, taking in her appearance. She looked tired. "Are you okay? How are you awake?"

"It's a very long story Harry," Hermione said, "I'm feeling a little better than earlier. I'm very stiff but Madame Pomfrey says that'll fade after a few days." Hermione bit her lip and after a long paused asked, "Harry, do you remember when I told you last year that I was adopted?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"Well this is my biological father, Alexander Nott," Hermione explained. "And that means that Theo here is my biological brother."

Harry gazed at the two sitting in Hermione's bed. Theo was in classes with him but Harry'd not been certain of the dark haired boy's name. There was obvious affection in Theo's eyes for his sister. And clearly suspicion of Harry.

Alexander Nott, meanwhile, was giving Harry an appraising look. Harry knew that Theo was a Slytherin, but that was all he knew about the Nott family. And he knew it was inappropriate to ask why Alexander Nott had abandoned his daughter but had a second child within a year. Although that smelled fishy to Harry. He kept his focus on Hermione. "Why are you awake so soon? Dumbledore said the mandrakes would have to mature."

"My father learned about my condition and he had Professor Snape order the potion from a supplier."

"What about the others?" Harry asked, noticing for the first time that the others were still unconscious.

"I bought enough potion for them too, but Dumbledore refused to let Madame Pomfrey and Severus administer it," Alexander answered. "He tried to prevent me from giving it to my daughter but that wasn't going to happen. I know my rights."

Harry was confused. Why would the headmaster refuse to let others get the potion? "But why not help the others?"

"Because Dumbledore is a megalomaniac," Alexander answered. "Now Mr. Potter, let's talk about your inability to think critically and your stubbornness which are responsible for putting my daughter in harm's way far too often."

Hermione winced at her father's words. She knew it was coming. He'd told her that he didn't care who her friends were so long as they were respectful and good to her; her two friends both failed in that based on what he knew about her adventures with Harry.

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Never had Harry been given such a scolding. Hermione's biological father didn't raise his voice. His tone was even throughout. But Alexander's words made it clear that such 'callous disregard for the lives of others' wasn't acceptable and dragging Hermione into hare-brained schemes without evaluating all the safer alternatives wasn't acceptable. Honestly, Harry had never thought of their adventures as all that dangerous. Magic seemed to be able to heal just about anything, after all.

But he took the scolding without complaint. And when Alexander Nott was finished, he just nodded. "Theo, it's curfew. Time for you to return to Slytherin."

"No way," Theo objected. "I'm not letting my sister be bait for that monster while I'm locked up in Slytherin."

"Wait, what?" Harry looked at Hermione, "What is he talking about?"

Hermione sighed in frustration. There were too many boys in this room intent on protecting her. "I saw the monster, Harry. And I've managed to convince my father to let me be bait for it."

"WHAT?!" Harry stared at her, incredulous. He looked at Alexander, "You're allowing this?!"

"Excuse me," Hermione huffed, irritated with the way Harry addressed her father; like she wasn't even there. "I can make my own decisions, Harry James Potter. I want to stop the basilisk from harming anyone else and my father certainly has the ability to transfigure a rooster to kill it. He won't let it hurt me."

Harry frowned, "I don't like it."

"Join the club Potter. Hermione won't listen to reason," Theo scowled. "My sister is incredibly stubborn."

"And you're not?" Hermione responded.

Alexander chuckled, "She has you there, Theo."

Theo frowned, "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I don't want her doing this either. However I will be here. Nothing is harming my little girl again. And no one wants this basilisk dead more than I do," Alexander added.

"What's a basilisk?" Harry asked, not recognizing the name.

Hermione sighed and launched into an explanation of what she saw and what they'd all worked out. "I don't like it," Harry said. "You shouldn't be the bait."

"I have to be," Hermione said. "I wasn't attacked for the same reason the others were. I have to be the bait."

"What if something goes wrong?" Harry asked her.

"Nothing will go wrong," Hermione assured him. "Professor Snape and Madame Pomfrey and my father will all be here. We know what it is, we know we can kill it."

"Snape? He's hardly someone to trust," Harry frowned. "He'd probably be happy to be rid of you."

Theo and Alexander both narrowed their eyes at Harry and Hermione rubbed her brow in frustration. They had been over this countless times, "Harry, do you know anything about Professor Snape? Like that he's the one who would have brewed the mandrake draught I'd be taking in a month if my father hadn't bought the potion from a supplier?"

"But he's…"

"A Slytherin?" Theo scowled at the Gryffindor, "Go on, tell us how all Slytherins are evil and untrustworthy and all Death Eaters. Go on Potter."

Harry bristled at the challenge, "Well he is!"

"And then what does that make James Potter and Sirius Black, Gryffindors who tried to kill Severus in Hogwarts? What does that say about Albus Dumbledore who knew about it but did nothing?" Alexander asked. Harry stared, mouth agape at the older man. Alexander glared at him, "Your allegedly muggle-loving headmaster saw no need to punish the two purebloods for nearly killing a half-blood. I would advise not speaking about things you know nothing about, Mr. Potter. The man you look up to is far more despicable than the man you've chosen to hate."

Hermione had to admire how her father had successfully made Harry speechless, but she doubted that his words would penetrate. Harry saw the headmaster as perfect and gentle and kind. He saw Snape as evil and despicable. She knew he wouldn't change his opinions on such things. She'd never known Harry to change his mind about a person; he was simply too stubborn and certain he was right to do such a thing.

Harry finally recovered from his shock and suggested, "You could just tell Dumbledore about it and he could get rid of the monster."

"The man who doesn't want any of the victims awakened? Who tried to stop me from seeing my daughter?" Alexander looked at Harry incredulously, "You are a fool, Mr. Potter."

"Better a fool than a Death Eater," Harry responded on reflex, on the offense after the slight to Dumbledore's name.

Harry had just uttered the words when he felt the sharp pain of a slap on his face. He looked at Hermione in shock, "How dare you Harry," she said quietly. "You know nothing about Theo or my father and just leap to conclusions that because they're Slytherins they're Death Eaters. Well then you can just leave me alone from now on because I want nothing to do with such a stubborn hypocritical judgmental arse," she glared at him, "and I'm well beyond fed up with your insistence that Professor Snape is evil just because you dislike him."

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Harry left the hospital wing with McGonagall, angry and confused over his interaction with Hermione. He'd been so happy to hear she was okay and he could see her, but somehow his relationship with her had been shattered during his visit. What was wrong with her, insulting Dumbledore? The man had been nothing but good to Harry since they'd met. Snape deserved what he got as far as Harry was concerned; Nott had to have been lying about James Potter nearly killing Snape. And if he did nearly kill Snape, he probably had a damn good reason for it.

Still, things had been said that planted seeds of doubt in Harry's thoughts; leaving him very confused when he returned to Gryffindor Tower. In fact, he was so confused that he went to sleep without saying a word about his visit with Hermione to anyone.

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In the hospital wing Theo had refused to leave and eventually Alexander agreed, provided he stay with Madame Pomfrey in her office. Theo accepted the compromise. Hermione settled into her hospital bed and Snape and Alexander prepared the room. "Remember, don't open your eyes," Alexander reminded his daughter for the eighth time.

"I won't," Hermione promised.

Snape slipped out of the infirmary to set alarm spells that only he would hear so they would know when the basilisk was close. He quickly returned and after setting some wards around Hermione's bed he looked at her, "Just relax. The basilisk needs to think you're asleep. Control your breathing and try not to be afraid. It is a snake; it can sense fear."

Hermione nodded and took a few deep breaths before laying down, trying to keep herself calm. "I won't let you down," Alexander vowed, squeezing her hand gently. "It won't even have a chance to hurt you." She gave him a nervous smile and he wished he could somehow soothe her further.

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Five minutes later Snape felt his alarms trigger and he and Alexander disillusioned themselves and stood ready on the opposite side of the room. They were sure the basilisk would take longer to notice them if they weren't next to Hermione's bed. Alexander cast a spell to make sure the snake couldn't smell them and the two men stood, wands drawn and ready to quickly cast the necessary spells.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. She was scared. This thing had already hurt her once. And she knew she was bait. But she did trust her father wouldn't let the basilisk hurt her and she trusted Professor Snape. Hermione focused her thoughts on a book she'd been reading recently to calm herself and relaxed into the bed, hopeful that this plan went off without a hitch. She didn't have much experience with that.

Alexander watched as the basilisk entered the ward with the Weasley girl. The girl hissed something and the basilisk responded before advancing toward Hermione. He quickly and wordlessly transfigured a pillow into a rooster. He turned the rooster toward the yellow sun-like orb Severus had silently conjured. The rooster crowed and Alexander stood in the corner with the potions master as the basilisk hissed and then dropped dead rather anti-climactically. Alexander pointed his wand at the girl and cast a stunning spell. He'd let the aurors sort all of that out.

He removed the disillusionment spell and walked over to make sure the snake was dead, "It's safe," he called out. Hermione's eyes opened and then widened as she took in the basilisk that was at least 30 feet long.

She was stunned at its size. She watched her father levitate Ginny to a hospital bed and conjure some chains to keep her bound in place. Obviously he wasn't taking any chances. Theo entered the room and stared, "Bloody hell that thing could have eaten you!" He rushed over to his sister and hugged her, "Are you okay Hermione?"

"I'm fine," she answered, returning her brother's hug. "I didn't think it'd be so big. I didn't get a good look, before. Just the eyes."

"Madame Pomfrey is calling the aurors," Snape said. "The basilisk would be very useful in potions," he mused as he studied the creature. "The venom is highly toxic but most of the carcass is usable. Even the venom has its uses."

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It wasn't long until department head Amelia Bones and several aurors arrived. "Bloody hell!" One auror swore. "What is that thing?"

"A basilisk," Snape said. "It is Slytherin's monster and it was attacking the students. We killed it and captured the girl controlling it," he said, indicating Ginny Weasley who was chained, still stunned, to a hospital bed.

Snape and Pomfrey explained the situation to the aurors, then Alexander gave his statement about what had happened as well as his memories. Hermione and Theo were questioned as well, Alexander keeping a watchful eye on his children. Hermione was tired and he didn't want her being overly stressed.

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All the interviews took nearly an hour. "I got all the pictures required," one auror told Amelia after Hermione's interview had finished.

Amelia looked at Snape, "I presume you would have a use for this basilisk?"

"Yes," Snape nodded.

"Well I don't want to try and get it to the Ministry, nor do we have a place for such a massive creature. We'll take measurements and then leave it for you to handle."

"Thank you," Snape nodded.

Alexander sat on his daughter's bed, "Madame Bones, you should know that I bought enough of the potion to heal all the victims, not just my daughter. The headmaster refused to permit Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape to administer it."

"Why the devil would he do that?" Amelia asked.

"He said he'd wait until the mandrakes had matured and I could brew the potion. That would be at the end of May," Snape added.

Amelia scowled. Sometimes Albus Dumbledore really was frustrating to deal with. He could far too easily be blinded by his alleged greatness and decide he was the ultimate authority and all he said was right and good. "Well I find this unacceptable. I'll have a word with the Minister to see if he can intervene."

"That's a good idea," Alexander said. "Mr. Filch opted to have his cat awakened with the potion but Dumbledore claims guardianship of the others."

Amelia made a special note to talk to Fudge. This was unacceptable. Nott was a highly respected individual and that he'd bought enough for everyone and it had been rejected was ridiculous. With their end taken care of, they took custody of the Weasley girl and left Hogwarts.

"You should get to bed," Alexander said to his son once the aurors had left with the girl. "Severus is going to get the basilisk out of the room."

"What about you?" Theo asked.

"I'm staying here tonight," he answered. "I want to be sure Hermione's okay before I leave Hogwarts."

"Can't I stay here? It's really late and we're not supposed to be out of our common rooms unsupervised," Theo begged.

"I suppose you can stay here," Madame Pomfrey said, "but you're leaving in the morning."

Theo nodded his agreement and smiled at his sister, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Hermione said, "I'm very relieved that thing is gone and that it's finally over."

"It's time for bed for you both," Madame Pomfrey informed them, "Miss Granger you need to take another potion and then you need your rest."

She didn't argue, merely drank the potion and then settled into her hospital bed. Theo settled into a bed nearby, pleased he didn't have to leave his sister just yet. After checking on his children Alexander helped Madame Pomfrey move the other victims back into the infirmary behind the screen she'd previously set up. He knew he'd likely leave Hogwarts the next day but at least he had a relationship, in some form, with his daughter finally. And Theo knew but didn't hate him for keeping the news from him. That had been his biggest fear; that his children would hate him for the hard decisions he and Aurelia had made.


	3. I'm Nott A Princess!

**A/N- Chapter sizes are going to be very inconsistent because some parts are more like an episode than others. I've started on chapter 6 already, so I thought I'd upload chapter three a little earlier than I initially intended. This chapter begins the morning after the basilisk is killed.**

 **Thanks for enjoying it! I've been sitting on this one for awhile but I really like Hermione and Theo as siblings. Hopefully this fic is slightly different from the usual siblings fic.**

* * *

Hermione woke the next morning feeling better than the day before when she'd woken up from her petrification. Madame Pomfrey gave her an exam before making her opinion known, "You'll need to be up here a few more days," she said. "You were fortunately not petrified for very long. Your father's quick actions helped tremendously on that front."

She smiled and when Madame Pomfrey was finished examining her, Hermione leaned on her father to steady her as she went to the bathroom to use the toilet and clean her face. She did feel steadier than the day before; at the very least, her balance was slightly improved. Her joints still felt stiff. Madame Pomfrey had suggested massage as an option.

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When she returned Theo was getting up and he smiled at her, "Feel better today?"

"A little," she answered with a smile. "I feel very stiff though. Madame Pomfrey thinks massaging my joints will help."  
"I can do that," Theo offered.

"I'd appreciate it," Hermione winced as she sat down on her bed.

Theo went to the bathroom and quickly cleaned up and changed clothes before returning so their father could use it. Madame Pomfrey had a balm ready, "Severus sent this up this morning. It should help soothe the ache and get you back to normal faster."

After spending five minutes showing Theo how to apply and massage the balm into Hermione's joints the mediwitch left them alone and Theo tended to his sister. "Does this feel better?" He asked as he massaged her shoulder.

"Yes actually," she nodded, her head dropping as he moved toward her neck, "Thank you Theo."

"I'm always happy to help you," he said. "You can count on me Hermione."

She smiled to herself. Theo was maybe trying a little too hard, but it was nice to know they were on the same page in wanting to spend time together and get to know one another. "What are your hobbies, Theo?"

"I like flying on my broom, reading," Theo said. "I like swimming too. We have a pool at the manor. It's fantastic."

"A swimming pool?"

"Yeah it's an inside one," Theo nodded, "so it can be used year round. Dad had it built for our mum when they got married as a wedding present. She hated cold English winters and loved swimming in the water."

"I enjoy swimming too," Hermione said, very interested in the home of her birth family. "Tell me more about Nott Manor?"

"Sure," Theo smiled before launching into a description of his home.

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Theo begrudgingly went down to breakfast when Madame Pomfrey sent him away, reminding him that he had classes to attend. Hermione insisted she have the homework from their classes, so at least he found himself with a new mission. A school elf brought Hermione her books in the infirmary so she could catch up on her classes, and Theo didn't have the heart to argue she should rest and enjoy not having classes. He knew enough about his sister to know that she loved classes and learning. He too often relaxed by reading a book, so he could understand her love of them.

In the Great Hall he sat down across from his friend Blaise Zabini and next to Draco Malfoy, "Hermione Granger is my older sister," he declared.

"Really? Wow," Blaise said. "Guess that solves the mystery of where you've been wandering off to then."

"I only recently learned about it but Hermione and I have talked and I really like her. She's going to be around often from now on. She wants to learn about me and I can't wait to learn about her," Theo smiled. It felt really, really good talking about his sister after sitting on the news the past few days. He saw Malfoy had stiffened and Theo glowered at him, "What is it, Malfoy?"

Draco just shook his head and a suspicious Theo pulled out his wand and pointed it toward Draco's genitals under the table, "Spit it out, Draco, or I'll make sure there're no more Malfoys."

"I think my father was involved in the attacks," Draco muttered quietly.

"Bloody hell he nearly got a pureblood witch murdered!" Blaise's eyes widened. That was an atrocious offense under the law.

"You're going to tell my father everything you know," Theo informed Draco. "I'm walking you up to the infirmary after breakfast."

"Me too," Blaise said, glaring at Draco. "I want to watch Mr. Nott kick your arse for hurting his little girl." Draco swallowed. He felt a little sick at the thought that a pureblood witch could have died. That was a very, very bad thing. He just hoped Alexander Nott didn't take out his anger on Draco.

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Theo returned to the infirmary after breakfast with Blaise and Draco in tow. Upon learning what Lucius did from Draco, Alexander was furious. "I want to talk to Madame Bones," he said, trying to control his temper. Lucius Malfoy would pay for this. With his life, the bastard would pay.

Once Alexander had left to use the floo in Madame Pomfrey's office Blaise looked at Hermione, "I'm Blaise. Theo's kind of my best mate."

"Kind of?" Hermione looked at her brother curiously.

"Blaise can be very annoying," Theo answered.

"I am not," Blaise protested.

Theo rolled his eyes, "He can be," he said to Hermione, "he's not as irritating as this one, anyway," he said, indicating Draco who was quieter than Hermione had ever seen him. "He's not a friend. He's an irritant."

Draco didn't say anything, just stayed sitting with his eyes on the floor. Hermione looked at Blaise, as Draco seemed to need to sit and think, "So what does someone who's kind of my brother's best mate do to earn such status?"

"Well this one time when we were eight," Blaise began. Theo groaned. Blaise loved to tell stories. Hermione would know everything thanks to Blaise's lack of a filter. Including the embarrassing stuff. But Blaise was getting along with Hermione, so Theo could let it go. Blaise was handling the news pretty well, all things considered.

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"We did find a diary on the girl," Amelia Bones conceded to Alexander Nott, "and it does contain You-Know-Who's memories and seems to be even worse than we initially thought. However, there's no evidence that it was Lucius Malfoy who gave it to the girl," she wanted to hang Lucius Malfoy as much as Alexander did, but there was no concrete proof that she could use to do so. With his hooks into Fudge, Amelia knew that nothing short of catching Lucius Malfoy redhanded would do. Even the testimony of his own son against wouldn't be enough.

"Lucius had a dust-up in Flourish & Blott's with Arthur Weasley," Alexander pointed out. "He probably slipped it into the girl's cauldron then."

"Legally my hands are tied, Mr. Nott," Amelia sighed. "I wish I could arrest him, believe me, but I can't."

Alexander stiffened. "Fine then. I shall be challenging him to a duel."

"Mr. Nott…what about your children?"

"He nearly had my daughter killed. His own son has admitted to that. The ministry won't punish him. He's in too good with Fudge even if you had indisputable proof. So I will be the one exacting justice. Lucius doesn't have to accept the duel. Unless of course he doesn't want me declaring to the world he's attempted to murder my daughter." Amelia knew Lucius Malfoy would not tolerate such a thing to go unchecked. His image meant everything to him. And since Alexander Nott was of a very high social station himself, there was little Lucius could do to silence him. The duel was the only option.

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"What if you don't win?" Theo asked his father when he returned to tell them his decision.

"I will," Alexander answered. "I will win and Lucius will be dead."

Hermione was concerned. "You don't have to do this," she said. "I'm okay."

"You are my daughter, you were nearly killed," Alexander frowned, "I have to do this. I will not let him get away with this as he has everything else he's done over the years. This time there are consequences."

Hermione was certain her stubbornness and thirst for justice (and okay, sometimes vengeance) came from her father. So she couldn't get angry about his decision. "Please survive. It would be very unfair to leave my life just after entering it." Theo had more concerns, but honestly he was the same as his father. He wanted heads to roll for what had been done to his sister. So he just put his faith in his father's decision.

"I will win," he said, "now I have a duel to declare. You two take care of each other." After kissing the top of Hermione's head he hugged both his children and said his goodbyes. He wanted to surprise Lucius Malfoy with the duel challenge. Catch him off-guard. That would give Alexander the advantage.

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Now that Blaise knew Hermione was a Nott, Theo had known it would soon be all over the school. It wasn't that Blaise was a gossip; it was more that others (Pansy Parkinson) had overheard Theo's announcement and they were gossips (Pansy liked to show off that she knew more about the goings on than others). And as he attended classes that day, it was all people were talking about. Hermione Granger was actually a Nott. She wasn't muggleborn, but a pureblood.

No one was brave enough to say a word about it to Theo, but he listened to every bit of gossip that mentioned his sister courtesy of an eavesdropping spell he'd learned long ago. Most of it was the standard 'of course she's a pureblood because she's so smart/skilled with magic' and other bullshite that Theo expected. There was nothing really negative said about her sudden new status by Slytherin house, which pleased him.

Of course, a couple people did have negative opinions and were quite vocal about it. Ron Weasley and Harry Potter specifically. Theo was not amused by their hostility or negativity but kept his wand in his pocket. He did give a few menacing glares to the pair, though.

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Hermione had a surprise visitor at lunch. Draco Malfoy. "I'm sorry about what my father did," he said, his eyes on the ground.

"You didn't do it," Hermione said. "You have nothing to apologize about."

Draco looked up at her, surprised at her dismissal of his apology and caught off-guard by it. He'd expected to have to grovel for forgiveness. To owe her a debt. Instead she'd shrugged it off. He blinked, "Um, well I thought you might want notes from classes," he opened his bag and pulled out a stack of parchment and offered it to her, "Theo's handwriting is not particularly legible."

"Thank you," she took the stack, "Theo said he'd get my homework but I wasn't sure about class notes."

"You're welcome," he stood awkwardly, "Um, I should go. Your brother really doesn't like me."

"I've noticed," Hermione mused. "Why doesn't Theo like you?"

Draco shrugged and shouldered his bag, "You'd have to ask him that Granger. Nott. Granger."

"Still Granger," Hermione said. "I love my muggle parents, even if they're not my biological ones."

Draco nodded and walked to the door of the infirmary. "You're a princess now, you know. Sacred 28. You should ask Theo about that." And before she could ask him anything more, Draco Malfoy had left the room.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When Theo arrived after dinner she did as Draco had suggested. "Sacred 28 is a book our ancestor wrote," Theo explained. "It was of all the still pure families and written in the 1930s or so. It contained the surnames of 28 families that are considered the pureblood elite as they're the oldest pureblood families in England."

"And the Notts are of course one of these families," Hermione mused.

"Yes," Theo nodded. "Of course, since then plenty of families have fallen off. The Abbotts and Bulstrodes were on the list but Hannah & Millicent are half-bloods, so that's them finished. The Avery family is still pure, the Blacks have no male heir as they had all daughters and the sons are dead or in prison. The Burkes are still pure, as are the Carrows, Fawleys, and Flints." Theo sat in thought, "Greengrass, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, our family," he listed, "all still pure. There's also the Parkinson, Rowle, Selwyn, Travers, Weasley, and Yaxley families. Whether in prison, dead, or mixed blood, the list has been whittled down to 16 families."

"Okay," Hermione said, "And why did Draco Malfoy tell me I'm a princess now and I should ask you about the Sacred 28?"

If Theo was honest, he was so excited to even have a sister he'd forgotten all about the things he needed to tell her. The pureblood high society she was suddenly a part of. Malfoy was right to warn her about what was to come. Because he knew, just as Theo did, that pureblood witches were highly prized. Especially Sacred 28 witches. Hermione would be a very hot commodity to any pureblood male.

Theo silently chastised himself for not thinking about it sooner. If Hermione had been released from the hospital before he told her, who knows what mess she'd find herself in. "Because the Sacred 28 are the upper crust of the social scene, in pureblood circles. Take my friend Blaise, for example. He's pureblood, but not Sacred 28. If he married into a Sacred 28 family, his social standing would improve well beyond what it currently is. Plus, marrying you gets them access to the Nott vaults."

"That is insane, Theo," she told him.

"Maybe, but that's the way things work and now that people know you're a Nott, you're going to be highly sought after. Which was probably Malfoy's point. You should be warned about the ways guys will try to court you. Because they'll certainly make an attempt. Your blood is what they'll care about, not who you were raised by. There's not that many sacred 28 witches, and certainly none with the vaults we have."

"They're not my vaults," Hermione said. "They're the Nott family vaults."

"And you're a Nott," Theo again pointed out. "There is no way our father doesn't make you an heiress to our family fortune."

Hermione sighed, "I guess stubbornness is a family trait." Theo chuckled at that and she looked at him, "Getting to know you is brilliant. Getting to meet my biological father was fantastic. And it's nice, knowing my magical talents come from my biological family. Ever since I learned I was a witch I wondered. Was I halfblood? Muggleborn? Maybe even pureblood? But this Sacred 28 is really quite absurd to me."

"It's not heavily followed anymore," Theo pointed out. "The Weasleys don't, and most of the remaining families are bleeding with half-bloods. But that doesn't mean that some families won't try to get you into some sort of commitment. Because at least some will. So you have to know what to expect from people trying to sneakily arrange a courtship with you. Not everyone is noble and kind. Especially in pureblood society."

Hermione grimaced at the thought before changing the subject, "How were classes today?"

"I got your homework," Theo said, pulling it out of his bag. "Seems like everyone knows you're a Nott. Pansy is such a gossip," he rolled his eyes.

"At least I won't have to tell the story twenty times," Hermione mused. "That would get old very fast. And Gryffindor has our own Pansy. Two of them," she smirked. "My roommates Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They love gossip."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Theo was about to speak when the hospital doors opened to reveal Percy, Fred, and George Weasley. They walked in slowly, looking quite morose. "We learned what our sister did to you," Percy said.

"We're really sorry," Fred said.

"Are you okay?" George asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione said. "Thanks to my biological father who bought the necessary potion to wake me up," she added.

"So then you are a Nott," George blinked. "We weren't sure if that part was made up. Seemed like it could have been."

"And you're really okay?" Percy asked her.

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm just up here still because my legs aren't quite up to full strength and I feel really tired. But after a few more days I should be able to leave."

"We're really, really sorry," Fred said. "McGonagall called us into her office to tell us Ginny had been arrested and what happened. I never would have thought she'd attack muggleborns like that."

"You three have nothing to apologize for," Hermione said to the three worried teens. "You're not responsible for Ginny's actions."

"She's still our sister and our responsibility though," Percy said. "As head boy I should have noticed something."

"If anyone should have noticed something, it was the professors and even they didn't pick up on her behavior," Hermione pointed out, "I saw that basilisk after it died. Dumbledore is the headmaster and for some reason he didn't know that a giant snake was prowling around his own castle trying to kill students."

"Because he's an old fool," Theo answered.

Hermione looked apologetically at her brother. "Sorry. Guys, this is my biological brother Theo. Theo, this is Percy, Fred, and George Weasley."

"Nice to meet you," George said.

"Likewise," Theo nodded.

"Must have been a shock, learning you have a sister," Fred pointed out.

"It was a wonderful surprise," Theo corrected him. "I'm thrilled to have a sister." Hermione smiled at him and took his hand, squeezing it.

"How are you handling it Hermione?" Percy asked.

"I knew I was adopted," Hermione explained, "I just never knew who my biological parents were. But I'm very happy. I always wondered if I had a biological sibling out there. And since learning I was a witch I've wondered if my biological family were magical like me."

"We never knew you were adopted," George said.

"I only told Harry late last year," Hermione admitted. "Once I came to Hogwarts I learned adoption is practically unheard of in the wizarding world and I wasn't sure how people would react to learning about it. Or if they'd even understand the process."

"Probably not the latter but we're quick learners," George assured her.

Hermione smiled at that. "So what all is going on with your sister?"

"The aurors say she's in St. Mungo's in a special ward until her trial," Percy said. "They think she might have been bewitched to some degree so she's to stay locked up until they know if she was or not and if so, whether she still is." While Theo despised Ginny Weasley for nearly killing his sister, he felt sympathetic toward the three boys who all looked very embarrassed by their sister's actions and upset at what possibly awaited her future.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next two days in the infirmary were rather dull for Hermione, aside from more visits from Theo. She worked on her homework and read class material, including the notes Draco Malfoy had left her. The Daily Prophet wrote about the impending duel between Alexander Nott and Lucius Malfoy which made Hermione worry. It would be horrible to lose her father before she'd really got to know him. However, Theo seemed confident Lucius Malfoy would die and that helped set her at ease, at least somewhat.

Draco Malfoy, meanwhile, found himself under intense scrutiny from Hogwarts as news of the duel broke and what Alexander Nott's allegations were. Hermione learned of this when she found out from Blaise, who'd come by with Theo, that Harry and Ron had tried to corner Draco with Ron pinning everything about the basilisk on Draco and asserting that Ginny was innocent.

Theo and Blaise had stepped up to defend Draco, and apparently the Weasley twins and Percy had laid into their brother for blindly accusing people of serious crimes with no evidence whatsoever. From what Blaise said, it seemed Ron saw Ginny's exposure as the person who'd opened the chamber as somehow making Ron look bad and was asserting that it was actually a Slytherin plot to frame Ginny the 'good' Gryffindor.

It irritated her that her friends would turn on her just for being a Nott. She wouldn't do that to them after all; but on the other hand, it was obvious Harry was incapable of seeing Dumbledore as anything other than great. Even when presented irrefutable evidence the old headmaster had some rather large biases, Harry simply ignored it in favor of viewing the old man in the best light he could and making excuses for him.

Harry had made it clear that her brother and father were the enemy, and given he'd not returned since Ginny was arrested Hermione had the feeling that friendship was over. When she heard about Ron confronting Draco and blaming him for Ginny's arrest, she was certain it was over. After all, Harry was completely loyal to Ron even if Hermione suspected the redhead wouldn't return that loyalty if put in a difficult position. It was a blind loyalty and she'd always thought that if push came to shove, Harry would choose Ron over her.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione also spent some time thinking about one Draco Malfoy. From what she'd gleaned from Blaise and Theo, and what she'd seen herself in the blonde's behavior, Hermione had the feeling that Draco's home was not a happy one. He seemed terrified of his father, and that broke her heart having had a loving father all her life and then meeting Alexander Nott to see that he was much the same as Troy Granger.

Blaise was more forthcoming about Draco's home life and he heavily implied that while Lucius was a monster, Narcissa was the loving mother you might expect. Hermione felt bad for Draco in that regard. Aside from being indoctrinated into bigotry from a young age, he had to live in fear of his father with a mother powerless to protect him.  
While Theo didn't say much, she got the feeling his dislike of Draco stemmed from their father's clear disdain for Lucius Malfoy. If Hermione was honest, she'd never given much thought to Draco Malfoy or his home life until recently. Hearing about it certainly explained his behavior the past two years. She wondered what he would be like with Lucius Malfoy out of the picture. Perhaps her father's duel could improve Draco's life by freeing him from Lucius' control.


	4. Freedom from the Infirmary!

**A/N- This is a bigger chapter. Lots of stuff happens. A duel, consequences of the basilisk begin to be handed out, and Theo gets a little overprotective. I'm going to have to explain Fudge, though. When writing him I just wondered to myself "What if Lucius Malfoy had something on Fudge that muzzled him?" Nothing like Fudge is secretly a Death Eater but what if it was something innocuous? Or if not, what if Malfoy conjured up something fake to blackmail Fudge? I wouldn't put that past him for a minute. So then the next question is obviously, what would Fudge be like once the muzzle is removed? And that's how I came up with this iteration of Cornelius Fudge.**

 **I've kind of spoilered my own chapter, haven't I? But then again, I doubt many would have thought this duel would ever end in any other way. I've started writing chapter 7, so here you go with chapter 4. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

The day of the duel Alexander Nott stood in the appointed neutral location (an empty field). They had agreed the duel would be one vs one, and Madame Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour from the DMLE stood by making sure the duel wasn't impacted by onlookers. Of which there were many. The large previously empty field was packed with people wanting to see the duel. When Lucius Malfoy arrived Alexander felt the anger sweep through him. This bastard had nearly killed his daughter.

Still, he kept his calm, "This is your last chance Lucius," Alexander warned. "Plead guilty to attempted murder or face my wrath for causing my daughter to nearly be killed."

"You won't win this silly little duel," Lucius responded arrogantly before dropping his voice and leaning toward Alexander, "The girl was raised by muggles. If anything, I was doing you a favor."

Alexander leaned close to Lucius, "You're lucky I'm not sadistic enough to make you suffer. But tell me Lucius, are you sure you can win a duel without using the 3 unforgivables? Because I certainly can. Death Eaters tended to favor them. Too mentally weak to think of anything better to use."

With that Alexander stepped away, but he saw the anger in Lucius' eyes. In deciding to duel Lucius he'd immediately known how to get to the Death Eater. Alexander had long seen Death Eaters as cowards. The way they'd pled innocence after Voldemort fell only served to prove it to him. At their core, they were cowards. Unable to stand up for what they believed in unless hidden by masks. He took no pleasure from killing Lucius Malfoy; but he wasn't letting Lucius get away with nearly killing Hermione. He would make an example of Lucius Malfoy, and in so doing his daughter and her adoptive parents would be safe. Only a fool would cross Alexander Nott after this duel.

"The duel will begin on my signal," Rufus said to the two men. "You cannot use the unforgivables. Everything else is fair game."

Alexander nodded, already thinking about the order of his spells. Lucius would immediately put up a shield, he was positive. The two men bowed, never breaking eye contact, raising their wands. Alexander let loose with a hair loss curse, jelly-legs curse, and a tongue-tying curse all without uttering an audible incantation, which predictably Lucius shielded.

Lucius threw some curses toward him that were just on the line of dark magic, but Alexander had been raised and trained in the dark arts just as Lucius Malfoy had. Rather than block them, he deflected them to send them back to Lucius, which successfully caught the blonde off-guard as his ears shriveled from the last curse he'd attempted to send at Alexander.

As Lucius quickly tried to fix his ears Alexander went in for the kill, " _Confringo_!" And just like that, Lucius Malfoy was blasted into nothingness.

Alexander straightened and looked over at the aurors as he lowered his wand. Rufus Scrimgeour checked to make sure Lucius Malfoy was well and truly gone before speaking, "I declare Alexander Nott the winner of this duel!"

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That afternoon Hermione was visited by Professor Snape, who had her brother and Draco Malfoy with him. After checking on her condition with Madame Pomfrey, he sat the two boys in chairs near her bed, "The duel has taken place." Theo grabbed his sister's hand and gave it a squeeze as Severus paused before informing them, "Alexander Nott was victorious and Lucius Malfoy was killed."

Hermione felt relief sweep through her and gave Theo a small smile. She then glanced at Draco, whose face showed no reaction. "So it's over then," Theo said. "Our father won and that's all over."

"Yes," Severus nodded. "He's already back home at the manor. He flooed my office to talk to me."

"How is my mother?" Draco asked.

"According to Alexander, Andromeda Tonks was at the duel and walked over to your mother after your father was killed. From what I understand, she went home with her. All three of you are permitted to go home for a few days," he informed them. "It is a policy of the school."

"I'm staying here with my sister," Theo said.

"I'd like to see my mother," Draco said quietly.

"I will arrange it with her. After dinner I'll floo you to her."

"Thank you sir," Draco nodded.

"Thank you for coming to tell me, Professor," Hermione said to him. She'd always respected Snape but now she had to admire how much he clearly did care for his students and tried to protect them.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Draco left with Snape, leaving the siblings alone. "Wow," Hermione said.

"Our father is a very good duelist," Theo smiled.

"Who is Andromeda Tonks?" Hermione asked him.

"Draco's mother is Narcissa Malfoy. But before she was a Malfoy, she was a Black. And her parents had three daughters. Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa."

"Bellatrix…you mean Bellatrix Lestrange?" Hermione asked. She'd read about that witch.

"Yes," Theo nodded. "Andromeda is the eldest sister. She's also the one who was struck from the family tree because she married a muggleborn. The Blacks are a bit…well if you thought Lucius Malfoy was a horrible blood purist, he had nothing on the Black family. They're in a class all their own when it comes to that."

"And is Narcissa as bad as Bellatrix?"

"Don't know. She wasn't a Death Eater in the first war, I know that." Theo shrugged.

Hermione looked at her brother, "I find it ridiculous you even still have duels."

"Well they're not very common anymore," Theo explained. "Our father just used it to ensure justice was done. Lucius Malfoy was untouchable. He had the Minister of Magic in his pocket."

"That doesn't surprise me," Hermione mused. "Madame Pomfrey says I can leave the infirmary this weekend."

"You'll be up in Gryffindor tower?" Theo frowned. "Is that even safe?"

"I doubt I'll be murdered in my sleep, Theo," she rolled her eyes. "They're my house."

"Yeah but," Theo sighed, "I'm allowed to worry about you. I already had to save Malfoy from Potter and Weasley. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Which is noble and even understandable but I'm not a special little princess," Hermione looked him in the eye, "I can handle myself and I can certainly handle Harry and Ron. I'm much better at casting magic than the two of them combined. Have some faith in my abilities."

"I'll try," Theo promised. "I'm going to miss seeing you whenever I want, though."

"We can still hang out," she pointed out, "we can work on homework together and find time to spend together. It will require some effort, but I'm certainly willing to do it."

"Me too," Theo nodded. "Working on homework together sounds good," he added.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When she was finally allowed out of the infirmary on Saturday morning Theo walked her down to breakfast. "It's nice to finally be free," Hermione said as they waited for a staircase to move into position for them to walk down.

"I can imagine," Theo smirked. "I hate being cooped up too."

"My parents would always tell me I was a horrible patient when I was sick as a little girl," Hermione smiled. "I did not do well, resting. If I had a book I was mostly fine but being told what I can't do I find infuriating. It always makes me want to disobey orders." Theo chuckled as the staircase finally settled in front of them.

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Entering the Great Hall she realized for the first time that she'd have no one to sit with for meals anymore. Then she realized that Neville Longbottom and the Weasley twins were waving her over to sit with them, down at the other end away from Harry and Ron. She looked at Theo accusingly, "What? You're my sister. I want to protect you and help you in any small way that I can," he shrugged. "Get used to it."

He was surprised when she responded, "Thank you." He'd been expecting an argument. Although, with everything going on maybe mealtime hadn't been on her mind like it had been on his.

"You're welcome," he smiled, walking her to the table before helping her sit on the bench, "I'll see you later," he said.

Hermione nodded. "Thanks for walking me down Theo."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Theo had barely left before she was besieged by questions, "What was it like being petrified?"

"How come only you are awake?"

"So you're really a Nott?"

"What's it like suddenly going from muggleborn to pureblood?"

"Hey ease off the questions," George frowned.

"She doesn't have to answer if she doesn't want to," Fred cut in with a scowl.

"It's okay," Hermione said to them before looking at Parvati to answer her question. "Being petrified was really scary. I felt very vulnerable, lying there like that. I could hear everyone. And if someone touched me, I could feel that too. But I couldn't speak or anything which was incredibly frustrating when they were discussing my attack. I wanted to scream the answer but couldn't do anything."

"That sounds horrible," Seamus frowned.

"It was," Hermione nodded before answering a few of the other questions, "I was adopted when I was born. My biological father, Alexander Nott, learned about what had happened to me from a letter Theo wrote him. So our father came straight to the castle, demanded to see me, and had Professor Snape order enough of the cure for everyone. But Dumbledore refused. He even tried to stop me from being given the Mandrake Draught but my father wasn't having that. Unfortunately while he could insist I be treated, he can't do the same to the others. But Mr. Filch did revive Mrs. Norris. Professor Snape found him and asked if he'd like to have the mandrake draught used on her."

"Bloody hell," Dean, Seamus, and Neville all said at the same time.

"So did Theo know that you're his sister?" Parvati asked.

"No. He just mentioned it in the letter he was writing to update his father on goings on at Hogwarts," Hermione put some eggs and toast on her plate as Neville poured her some orange juice, "Thank you Neville," she said before continuing, "as for going from muggleborn to pureblood…well that will take some time, I think. Mostly I feel the same as before. It's nice to know something about my biological family. I've always wondered about them. And it's wonderful to have a brother."

"So you always knew you were adopted," Dean said, surprised.

"My parents told me once I was old enough to know what it meant," Hermione nodded. "When I learned I was a witch I of course wondered if I maybe was given up by my birth parents because they were magicals and given the war that was going on, they felt they _had_ to give me up. And more or less that's what happened according to my birth father."

"How come Dumbledore can stop the others from getting the potion?" Neville asked her.

"He claims magical guardianship of all muggleborn students," Hermione answered. "I think that's wrong. My parents were never told such a thing. But for my father's stubbornness, I'd still be petrified right now and that basilisk would still be roaming the halls."

"I don't want Dumbledore to be my guardian," Dean frowned, looking over at Seamus, "do you reckon your mum would be willing to be my magical guardian?"

"We can write and ask her," Seamus assured his friend.

"We should tell other muggleborns too," Lavender said. "That way they can find a magical guardian of their own." Hermione had to admire that unlike Harry, the other students in her year believed her when she told them about Dumbledore refusing to help the others. At least they were willing to listen and trusted in her.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Breakfast after that was mostly Hermione listening as others told her about the goings on in the castle, and in Gryffindor Tower especially. After breakfast they walked back up to the tower and Dean got his muggle deck of playing cards out. Hermione settled into playing muggle card games with the others for the morning. It was nice to have contact with others and not be cooped up, but she didn't quite feel ready to be traipsing around the castle. Which she guessed her brother had told them as it seemed like more than the twins & Neville were in on both keeping her occupied and socializing with her.

Theo regularly checked up on her at mealtimes over the next two days and on Monday after breakfast he walked over and picked up her bag, "I'm carrying it to your classes."

"Theo that is unnecessary," Hermione protested.

"No it isn't," he argued, "and I'm walking you to class. You're my sister, you were nearly killed, and I'm carrying your bag to class. End of story."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When Theo sat down at her table in Potions class Hermione looked at him, "Oh you're going to be my partner in this class now?"

"Yes," Theo answered. "I'm a wonderful potions partner and more importantly, I can spend time with my sister in one of the few classes we share."

Hermione had to admit, Theo had her on that one. "I do like spending time with you," she assured him, lest he think she didn't. She saw Harry and Ron enter as she pulled her book out of her bag. Ron had predictably not reacted well to her being a Nott. He and Harry were outright negative about it.

Of course, Hermione had expected that. She'd heard from her brother and Blaise what the two boys had been saying so she wasn't surprised. They had yet to talk to her. Hermione got the impression from Ron's glares at the twins and Percy in the common room on Saturday that the older three Weasleys had told Ron to leave her alone and keep his mouth shut. As for Harry, Hermione could see from the way he looked up at the staff table at meals that his view of Dumbledore hadn't changed. He was still the kind, loving, wise old man that Harry saw him as. Hermione had known Dumbledore wasn't perfect before she was petrified but after hearing him refuse to let her and others be treated sooner she thought he was despicable and drunk on power. She actually felt significantly less upset about the friendship ending than she'd expected.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Snape glanced at Hermione and Theo, a look of amusement passing through his eyes for a moment before he informed the class what they'd be brewing that day. "I'll get the ingredients," Theo said.

"Fine but you're not micromanaging me all class," she informed him. Theo smirked and looked at the recipe for a minute before going to get the necessary ingredients.

Hermione organized their ingredients once he brought them back to the table, "How are your slicing skills?"

"Just fine," Theo answered. "But if you want I can just pulverize the ingredients that need to be pulverized."

"That would appeal to my need to be a control freak," she smiled. Theo grinned and picked up the mortar and pestle. He was happy to spend time with his sister any way that he could. Theo wanted them to be close. They worked together side by side throughout the class period, Hermione surprised but pleased at how easy working with Theo was. It was good to get to have time with him despite being in different houses. "I'm glad you're my brother," she told him quietly as she leaned into him to read the next step of the recipe. Theo's smile made it clear the feeling was mutual and he briefly wrapped his arm around her for a quick hug.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

At the end of class their potion was delivered to Snape, who studied it, "Excellent work Miss Granger, Mr. Nott. Full marks on your work today."

Hermione smiled at her brother, who returned it. Theo hoped they could spend more time together. There was no denying his sister's intellect but he wanted her to know he wasn't an idiot. "What do you have next?" He asked her as they packed up their bags.

"Herbology," she answered.

"I'll walk you there," Theo said.

"You don't have Herbology next," Hermione pointed out.

"Doesn't matter, I'm walking you to class," he insisted.

"You'll be late to your class," Hermione countered.

"Fine with me," he shrugged, "It's DADA and I'd happily miss out on time with Lockhart." Well she could hardly fault him for that.

"You still shouldn't do it," Hermione pointed out. "I don't want you to get in trouble on my account."

"I don't want you carrying your bag. It's bloody heavy," Theo insisted. He looked over at the other Gryffindor boys, "I guess I could let one of them do it."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Seamus carried her bag to Herbology, refusing to let Hermione take it from him once Theo was out of sight. "I am not a precious flower," Hermione protested.

"No but if you were my sister I'd be reacting the same as Theo," Seamus responded. "So I'm carrying your bag to class."

"Why are Hogwarts boys so bloody stubborn?" Hermione asked aloud.

"Probably something in the pumpkin juice," Dean joked.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Herbology went by easily enough, though Hermione sensed attitude from Ernie MacMillan who thankfully wasn't in her group that day. After class Dean, who was in her group that day, picked up her bag after she'd returned her things to it and Hermione rolled her eyes and stood to walk back with him. Arguing about it seemed pointless. Theo had the other Gryffindor boys looking out for her and she had to admire his devotion despite how new their relationship (and how unnecessary this overprotectiveness) was.

"So are you and Theo going to see each other this summer?" Neville asked.

"Hopefully," Hermione answered. "I'd like us to spend time in both worlds ideally. I just need my parents, the Grangers, to approve. I wrote and told them about Theo and my birth father. I've not heard back yet but I would expect to get a response soon."

"Your father must be pretty strong, taking out a basilisk AND Lucius Malfoy," Seamus smirked. "It's a really impressive feat."

"He was pretty amazing when he and Professor Snape killed the basilisk," Hermione admitted. "But I think he's much gentler than he appears. He was so kind when he was helping me get around and drink and eat after I came out of the petrification."

"What's up with Harry and Ron?" Neville asked. He'd wondered about that. Harry had been thrilled to get to go see Hermione. But then when he'd returned he'd looked furious.

"Harry didn't take the news I'm a Nott very well. And he rudely stated that Professor Snape wouldn't help my father get rid of the basilisk as he'd be happy to be rid of me. Then he settled on Dumbledore being perfect and my father & brother being the problem."

"That certainly explains it," Dean rolled his eyes. "Those two look like idiots to everyone else, though."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Hermione shrugged. "I always knew Harry'd choose Ron's side over me and Ron was never going to take the news that I'm a Nott well. And he has a history already of trying to pick fights with Theo. I can't ask Theo to get on with Ron when Ron's been an idiot."

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Theo had just made it to the entrance hall when they entered. He smiled when he saw Dean was carrying Hermione's bag. "Do you see what you've started?" Hermione scolded her brother.

"I'm not sorry about it," Theo responded. "I want to have lunch with you. Do you want to sit at the Slytherin table or am I to sit with these goody-goody Gryffindors?"

"Hey we're not all goody-goodies," Dean protested.

"Yeah that's Hufflepuff," Seamus cut in.

Theo smiled at them and Hermione looped her arm through her brother's, "I wouldn't mind you sitting at the Gryffindor table. In exchange I could sit at the Slytherin table at dinner if you want."

"Or I can keep you from Blaise and his ability to embarrass me," Theo mused. "Hmm, I'll have to think on which is worse."

Hermione nudged him playfully, laughing lightly, "Oh Theo I'm your sister. I'm required to know all sorts of embarrassing things about you."

"Not yet," Theo said, walking with the group into the Great Hall. "Are you alright? You're not too tired, are you?"

"I'm feeling fine," Hermione assured him. "Having the weekend to recover outside of the infirmary was enough for me to feel okay going to classes."

Sensing her displeasure at constantly being asked how she was feeling, Theo opted to change the subject, "How was class?"

"Very good but I certainly felt myself being stared at," Hermione answered. "I'm not sure if it's that I'm awake and the others aren't or if it's my newfound 'status' though."

"Probably both," Theo answered. "They'll get used to the latter, though, and when the others wake up you'll not have all the attention on you."

"I hope so," Hermione sighed. "I do hope the others wake up soon. I don't see why that potion should be tossed aside."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next day at breakfast Cornelius Fudge entered the Great Hall with Amelia Bones, a group of aurors, and a group of healers, "Albus Dumbledore you owe me an explanation," the man wearing a lime green bowler hat declared.

"That's the Minister of Magic isn't it?" Hermione quietly asked Neville.

"Yes," Neville nodded.

"He looks really angry," Dean observed.

Dumbledore tilted his head as though he didn't know what the minister was talking about, "An explanation about what, Cornelius?"

"I have just seen memory testimony of you refusing to let _children_ be given a potion that was purchased to heal them," the minister snapped. "Alexander Nott purchased the potion through your own potions master. Why not let the children be treated?"

Dumbledore stared at the man for a few moments, the entire Great Hall silent as they waited for Dumbledore's answer. When Dumbledore finally spoke, Hermione was furious with his answer. "The school wasn't safe. A monster was roaming the halls. They could have been attacked again."

"Yes about that monster," Amelia Bones stepped up to stand next to her boss, "what was being done to find it and kill it? Because in less than a day the father of two of your students and your own potions master did both."

Hermione decided she liked Amelia Bones. The head of the DMLE had waited for Dumbledore to trap himself before speaking. Madame Bones had been very nice and gentle when Hermione had been interviewed after the basilisk had been killed. But here the older witch was authoritative and spoke in the tone of someone whose patience was not to be tested. Hermione was very impressed.

Cornelius Fudge then spoke, his tone low and slow, "Did you know, Albus, that those children can hear and feel everything around them? That they are lying there, frozen, but fully conscious?"

Dumbledore's face paled, "Cornelius…"

"Spare me your empty platitudes Albus. I have already notified the ICW of your treatment of those students and I have an order from the Wizengamot that demands the children be woken up with the potion Mr. Nott bought. These healers and aurors are here to see that done. Get in their way and I will have you arrested. The ministry will be taking a deeper look into Hogwarts' goings on this summer. I expect major changes to be taking place." Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak but Fudge interrupted him, "Now I believe Amelia and Rufus have more than a few questions to ask you about your failure to report students being attacked and inaction in stopping the monster."

Amelia Bones barely concealed a smirk. Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore were quite similar in their ability to slip out of any trouble they found themselves in. It was nice to have him stuck in it. She had shared Alexander Nott's anger and outrage at Dumbledore's actions. And while she'd been unable to do anything about Lucius Malfoy due to lack of evidence, Dumbledore was a different story. "Shall you answer them here or in private?" Amelia asked.

"We should go to my office," Dumbledore answered.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

From his seat at the staff table Snape hid a smile. It was nice to see Dumbledore be the one caught off-guard for a change. Amelia, Rufus, and two aurors followed Dumbledore out of the Great Hall through the side door that was the teachers' entrance. Cornelius Fudge walked back toward the main entrance, pausing when they were near where Hermione was sitting. "Miss Granger, I do apologize for what you had to experience. Albus Dumbledore clearly has too much on his plate if he can't be bothered to investigate what is attacking his students."

"Thank you sir but I heard the headmaster while I was petrified," Hermione said, "and he didn't sound bothered in the least about my condition or the conditions of those around me. His sole goal seemed to be to stop my biological father from healing me and the others."

"Well if you ever need anything, my office is quite available to you. The Wizengamot is already working on making muggle-raised students and their parents more aware of their rights. And I am truly sorry for what you had to go through."

Seamus coughed and muttered, "Lockhart," across the table from Hermione. Well now, that wasn't a bad idea.

She looked up at the minister, "Actually sir, there is something you could help with. Professor Lockhart is," she bit her lip before deciding to be blunt, "he's a fraud, sir. Our DADA classes are just him boasting about the things he's done but we learn no magic. The few spells he's taught us don't actually work and seem to be completely made up."

Fudge frowned and looked around the hall, "Is this true?"

A chorus of 'yes' rang out from around the hall. Lockhart sat frozen in his chair. "Is something wrong, Professor Lockhart?" Fudge asked the frozen man.

"He was about to stand and escape so I cast a spell to hold him in place," Flitwick answered the minister. "I quite agree with my students, Minister. Gilderoy is a fraud."

"A bit of Veritaserum should give you all the answers you need," Snape suggested. "I have some in my lab."

"Yes perhaps that would be best," Fudge gave an appraising look at the 'acclaimed' author. "I think we'll be giving a strong look at Hogwarts' hiring practices this summer as well."

Snape summoned a house elf to deliver the potion and a few aurors took custody of Lockhart. "Where do you want him questioned?" The large auror asked the minister.

"I think the children are owed answers," Fudge answered. "Take custody of his wand before he's released, though. I don't want any surprises."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Your sister is pretty awesome," Blaise excitedly said to Theo. "We'll finally be rid of the idiot!"

"She is," Theo agreed, smiling fondly at his sister across the hall. No more Lockhart sounded amazing. Possibly more amazing than Snape handing the bastard his arse in a duel.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Everyone in the student body sat and watched as Lockhart was given Veritaserum by Snape and then questioned by a tall black auror, "Is your name Gilderoy Lockhart?"

"Yes," Lockhart answered.

"Were you born January 26, 1964?"

"Yes," the professor answered.

"Did you defeat and cure the Wagga Wagga Werewolf?"

All present could see the man fighting before answering, "No." The eye rolling and smirking at the staff table indicated none of the professors were surprised with this answer.

"Did you do any of the things you've claimed to have done in your books?"

Again Lockhart struggled before answering, "No."

"What happened to the people who did those accomplishments?"

"I cast memory charms on them to make them forget they'd done it."

"Why?"

"I wanted to be more popular," he gritted his teeth as he tried to stop himself from answering.

"We have enough to charge him, Minister," the auror holding Lockhart said.

"One more question," Fudge requested. "Why take this job, Gilderoy? Surely you knew you'd be found out by the students."

"Dumbledore mentioned Potter was a second year and I knew I could boost my fame even further," Lockhart's face was quite red, though whether from embarrassment or frustration was anyone's guess. "I figured Potter's presence and endorsement would greatly boost my fame and fortune."

"That's all. Take him away. Charge him," Fudge said, watching three aurors leave with their prisoner and barely hiding a smile as the students cheered Lockhart's departure. He looked at Minerva McGonagall, "I think I'll have a word with some retired aurors. A few of them teach our trainees and I think they'd be capable of teaching for the last few weeks of the school year."

"Thank you Minister," McGonagall said.

"Well then, let's go wake up those students," he said to the healers. "Good day to you, Professor McGonagall. Miss Granger," he tipped his bowler hat toward Hermione, "truly a pleasure to have met you."

"Nice to meet you too sir," Hermione said, and with that the minister left the Great Hall with the healers.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

McGonagall declared classes cancelled for the day and dismissed the students from breakfast. Theo was at the door waiting for her when Hermione got up to leave. She smiled at her brother who wrapped his arm around her, "You got rid of Lockhart! You're a hero now."

"Seamus was the one who thought of it," Hermione said. "I just said the truth. He might have been attractive but Lockhart was otherwise useless."

"You had a crush on him?" Theo sighed, "Hermione, I expect better taste than that from you."

"I hardly wanted to marry him," she rolled her eyes.

"Promise me you'll show better wisdom in choosing a boyfriend in years to come," he insisted.

Hermione laughed, "You're ridiculous Theo."

"Promise me," he begged, jutting his bottom lip out in a massive pout.

"Okay, I promise." Theo instantly perked up and she shook her head, "Really? You had to pout?"

"You should be glad I didn't insist on my approval of your boyfriends," Theo warned her.

"Try that at your own peril," she threatened before leaning into him, "in all seriousness, Theo, I think you still have some time before that happens. Loads of it."

"Nonsense," Theo shook his head. "Everyone says you look just like our mother and she was the most beautiful woman in the world," he insisted.

Hermione smiled and kissed his cheek, "You're very sweet."

"Come on, let's go outside. You could use some fresh air and it looks really nice out today," Theo suggested.

"How about we both go put our school bags away and meet back here in ten minutes or so?" She suggested. "And you can even bring Blaise if you want."

"Okay," Theo nodded. "See you soon," the two parted ways back to their dorms.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Theo's pretty alright," Dean said as he twirled his Frisbee around on his finger. After seeing a fanged one he'd asked his parents to send his muggle Frisbee to play with. He preferred a toy that didn't bite you. "But does he know stuff about muggles?"

"No which is why I think playing Frisbee is a good activity. He knows what a Fanged Frisbee is," Hermione answered, "so a regular Frisbee doesn't take much explanation."

"Clever," Seamus said before hollering up the stairs, "Come on Neville! We'll be late and then Theo will organize a search party to make sure Hermione's okay!"

She rolled her eyes. She actually rather enjoyed time with Dean and Seamus and Neville but there was no disputing the boys liked to tease her about Theo's overprotectiveness. Hopefully during the summer that side of Theo would calm down. "I'm coming," Neville said loudly, coming down the stairs to the boys' dorm. "Let's go then."


	5. School's Out for Summer!

**A/N- I have a problem. I am way, way, way too far ahead of you. So here's a chap a bit earlier than I'd have intended but at least gets you to the same time of year that I'm currently writing. There's not too much Harry & Ron in this chap but don't worry, there's more about them in the summer before third year. Trying to cover all facets as much as I can makes the story move a bit slower so there's always going to be jumps in time to hopefully balance that, at least slightly. Things happen the summer after 2nd year which will dramatically alter things from happening in a canon manner, so please don't hold books 3-7 over me.**

 **Also, and I address this in later chapters, Alexander was a couple years below Snape & the Marauders in school. I just wanted to mention that as I haven't really pinned down his age in the fic as of yet. **

* * *

"I just want to be in her life," Alexander explained to the Grangers. "I was hoping maybe Theo could spend some of the summer here, with her, and then they could spend time at Nott Manor. They're quite taken with one another."

Troy and Helen Granger looked at one another. The adoption was technically not legal. If Nott wanted to, he could take Hermione from them. But in her letter Hermione had emphasized that she still saw her parents as her parents and she simply wanted to get to know her brother and biological father. And Alexander had made it clear in his he wasn't trying to take her from them, he just wanted the chance to get to know his daughter. "That sounds like something we could arrange," Helen said. "Although we were planning on going to France this summer with Hermione."

"Oh," Alexander scratched his head awkwardly, unsure what to do or say.

"But we could take Theo with us," Troy suggested, "and then next summer you could take them."

"The Quidditch World Cup is next year," Alexander mused. "That would work out fine for me," he nodded. "How long will you be in France? I could take Hermione and Theo to get their school supplies before they return to Hogwarts."

"We were thinking all of July and returning in August," Helen answered. "We wanted to show Hermione the sights."

"You getting Hermione's school things with her would be a welcome change," Troy Granger breathed a sigh of relief, "The looks we get from other wizards…it's like we're animals in a zoo."

"It would be my pleasure," Alexander insisted.

"We'll just need Theo's passport then," Helen said.

Then Troy turned thoughtful, "This Quidditch World Cup, is it like the muggle one?"

"Mostly. It runs from May to August, though. With fewer teams. They only build one temporary stadium," Alexander began to explain the World Cup to the two muggles, pleased that while things weren't going exactly as he'd envisioned, it was mostly going rather well. Okay, he didn't get to share the summer with the Grangers the way he'd have liked. But he could probably get to France for a few weekends to spend time with his children.

* * *

"Perhaps I could come a couple weekends to France, take the kids to the wizarding side of it while you two get some time alone," he suggested after a bit.

"That would be nice," Helen nodded. While she loved her daughter, a weekend with just her husband in the most romantic city in the world sounded very appealing. "Is magical France like England? Is there a magical side to Paris like there is to London?"

"Yes," Alexander nodded, "My late wife liked to take me through the magical cities of Europe that she explored in her youth. I would very much enjoy taking our children through magical Paris." Alexander gazed at the two muggles, "I can't thank you enough for raising her as you have. I was raised being told Muggles were horrible, monstrous things but I didn't hate you; I was more afraid of you than anything. You've loved and raised her so wonderfully. I'm just incredibly grateful to you both."

"She's something else, isn't she," Troy chuckled.

"Yes she is," Alexander nodded.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Two weeks after she had woken up from her petrification Hermione was feeling all better. The other victims of the basilisk waking up had offset all the attention she'd been getting, which was a relief. It turned out that Penelope Clearwater, the girl Hermione had been with when they'd been petrified, was Percy Weasley's girlfriend. Percy was quite upset about it but also very relieved when she didn't blame him for Ginny's actions.

As for Ginny, the papers had no information thus far. She was curious, but ultimately decided that she could do nothing to find out sooner than anyone else what was going on. In every class they shared the Nott siblings sat together and on the weekends they alternated sitting at the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables for meals. Hermione enjoyed it, as Blaise had loads of stories about him and Theo getting up to no good as children. But there was also watching Theo interact with people raised by muggles in Dean and Seamus and while sometimes things had to be explained to Theo, he was always willing to learn and quick to understand. That pleased her, knowing he wasn't adverse to muggles and muggle culture.

Albus Dumbledore's situation was very similar to Ginny's, in many ways. He was absent from meals but still in the castle and nothing about what would happen to him had been written about. Theo reckoned anything done to him would be done in the summer, which she actually thought made sense. Although she didn't think much would be done to Dumbledore. While students at Hogwarts were not his biggest fans (save Harry & Ron anyway), he had plenty of support outside of Hogwarts and in the Ministry of Magic. The more she thought about it, the more similar Dumbledore was to Lucius Malfoy at escaping blame. That was an alarming thought.

McGongall seemed to be in charge of Hogwarts, and the day after the rest of the victims of the basilisk were released from the infirmary she declared that there would be no final exams that year, which was welcomed by the students. But they did face choosing their electives for the next year and after consulting with Theo and Percy, Hermione settled on taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as they would prove most useful in the long run.

Draco Malfoy had returned to Hogwarts not long after Hermione was allowed out of the infirmary. He kept his head down and his expression unreadable, focusing on his classes and keeping to himself except for quidditch practice. He spoke very little to others, but it seemed like most people were happy to leave him alone after his father's death. Even Harry and Ron ignored him.

Those two left her alone too; in fact it was almost like they'd never been friends to start with which hurt her a little. But looking at Theo quickly got her over that. He was her brother and while their relationship still might be new it was already very strong and she valued their connection which even Theo described as instant. They were always noticing similarities between them.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

She read her parents' letter and smiled. "Good news from home?" Neville asked.

"Very good news," she nodded. "We're going to France this summer and Theo is coming with. My parents and my father have worked it out."

"That's great," Neville smiled at his friend. "Seems like you two will have a great time."

"I think so," Hermione nodded. "I've never been to France. It will be fun to explore a new country together."

* * *

"No I've never been to France," Theo answered her as they sat at their Potions table. "I've never really been in the muggle world, actually. So this will be a massive change for me."

"Well it's only July. We can spend June teaching you about muggle England. My parents work during the week but we live in London so I can show you around the muggle side of the city," she smiled, "you'll love it, Theo."

"If you say so then I'm sure I will," he smiled. He was a little nervous, but muggles had done alright by his sister so it couldn't be a horrible experience. "I'll need muggle clothes," he mused.

"We'll go shopping," Hermione promised. "We're going to have a good summer."

"Yeah," Theo nodded. He'd not thought they'd get to stay together during the summer; that their father and the Grangers were trying to help them spend time together was an incredibly welcome surprise. "Do you think your parents will like me?"

"Of course they will," Hermione pulled out her book, "don't even worry about that Theo."

"I'm not _that_ worried," he muttered, flushing slightly. "They're important to you and I just want to make a good impression."

"That alone will make them like you," she assured him. That did make him feel better. Not that he'd admit it. He didn't want to seem more worried than he was.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

In what felt like no time at all summer break arrived and they were soon on the Hogwarts Express headed back toward London. Hermione looked at the twins, "Make sure your parents know I don't hold Ginny against them. Because I really don't."

"We will," Fred nodded.

"You two have fun in France," George said, and with a wave the twins headed off to sit with their friends.

* * *

Hermione found a compartment with her brother, Blaise, Neville, Dean, and Seamus. "So you two spend this summer mostly with the Grangers, and next summer mostly with your father," Neville checked.

"That's the plan," Hermione nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

"I'm looking forward to the Quidditch World Cup," Theo smiled. "Father's working on getting tickets."

"This far out?" Neville asked.

"You have to," Seamus answered. "Me mum is working on getting us tickets. I already asked her to get one for Dean too. It's really tough to manage but the supporters' groups for each country get an allotment and she's pretty sure she can get us tickets."

"It would be cool to see professionals play quidditch," Dean said. "Probably much less painful than watching us lose the cup to Slytherin for the second year in a row."

"I enjoyed it," Blaise grinned.

"Well of course _you_ did," Seamus wrinkled his nose, "the rest of us didn't though."

"I thought it was fantastic to watch Potter pout when we lifted the trophy," Theo smirked.

"I don't see the appeal of quidditch," Hermione rolled her eyes at the five boys' competitiveness. "However I will go to the Cup with you next year because it'll be an interesting experience. We'll get to see wizards from around the world."

Theo didn't understand how anyone could not like quidditch but she was willing to go so he didn't question it. He pulled out his Exploding Snap deck, "Want to play a round or two?"

"Sure," the other boys in the compartment settled in while Hermione pulled out a book to read. She'd not get much reading done that summer, so she might as well get it in now.

* * *

When they arrived in London it was to see their father waiting on Platform 9 ¾ for them. His smile when he saw them was obvious. "How was the end of the school year?" Alexander asked them as he took their trunks and magically shrunk them down to put in his pocket.

"We won the quidditch cup," Theo grinned. "Malfoy caught the snitch and secured the cup for us against Ravenclaw! Potter was bloody fuming over it. It was awesome."

Knowing his son's love of quidditch Alexander chuckled and looked at his daughter, "How about you?"

"Once the staring stopped I felt better but of course now the staring has started again," Hermione said, well aware of the eyes upon her as they stood on the platform.

"It will fade with time," he assured her. "I've had several requests for a betrothal. I told them where they could shove it."

Hermione grinned at that. She'd not been approached by any boys, but according to Theo it was typically the parents who arranged marriages. Given how protective her biological father was over her, she doubted very much that he'd be willing to sign any contracts pertaining to marriage. She personally found the process stupid and horribly old fashioned. But it was nice to have her theory confirmed. "Are you two ready then?" Alexander asked his children.

"Yes," Hermione nodded.

"Mr. Nott?" Hermione looked to see Colin Creevey had approached them.

Alexander looked at the boy, "Yes?"

"Thank you for the potion," Colin said. "You didn't have to buy it for all of us. It was horrible, being out so long. It was a relief to wake up so much sooner than we would have otherwise."

"You're welcome," Alexander responded.

"This is Colin," Hermione told her father, "He just finished his first year."

"I'm sorry that that creature was one of your first experiences of our world," Alexander said to the small boy.

"You don't have to apologize," Colin said. "I love magic and thanks to you Hogwarts is much safer now. I already can't wait for next year!"

* * *

After saying goodbye to Colin, the three Notts exited to the muggle side of King's Cross Station. Alexander led them outside to where the Grangers were waiting. Hermione grinned and hugged them, "I missed you," she said as her mother held her.

"We always miss you," Helen responded before releasing her and looking at the dark haired boy standing next to her, "now this must be Theo."

"It's nice to meet you both," Theo said politely.

"Likewise," Troy Granger smiled at the young man. He did see a resemblance between the siblings, though it wasn't very prominent unless you looked closely. Both had their father's eyes and his hair color. And in their coloring it was clear they went more to the Greek of their mother than their father's English roots. He was fairly certain by the end of their summer in France both Hermione and Theo would look much darker than Troy or Helen would. "Shall we head home then?"

"Definitely," Hermione smiled, "Come on Theo."

* * *

Alexander paused, watching Harry Potter approach his muggle family. He wasn't sure who looked more displeased, the boy or his uncle. "You go ahead," he said to the Grangers. "I just need to say something."

He walked over to Vernon Dursley and Harry Potter, "You must be the boy's uncle," Alexander greeted him, "I'm Alexander Nott. He's classmates with my children."

Harry frowned, confused by Nott's presence. "Mmm," Vernon grunted.

"I knew James and Lily Potter. Went to school with them. I loathed them," Alexander added before fixing Vernon with a stern glare and leaning close to the muggle, "but I would never direct that anger and hate on their child. I would hate to hear that you've done exactly that."

Alexander pulled back and his next words baffled Harry, "Albus is an idiot. But do not punish the boy because of the old man's mistakes and quite empty threats." Alexander gazed at Vernon in the eye again, "He won't bother you again. But if I hear the boy is being abused, well, I already killed a man who tried to kill my daughter. And he was a dangerous wizard in his own right."

Vernon swallowed thickly but spoke, "I don't know why you'd care about the boy."

"Because he once was my daughter's friend. He no longer is, but the boy might not be as big a bullying idiot as his father or as coldhearted as his mother. And frankly, I think he deserves that chance to prove it." With that Alexander walked back toward the Grangers, leaving a very confused Vernon Dursley and Harry Potter behind.

* * *

 **P.S. Alexander does some form of wandless legilimency on Vernon to learn how Harry ended up with them and what Albus has done to create such hatred toward magic & Harry. Just wanted to clarify that.**


	6. Taking Charge!

**A/N- This is a very short chapter. Only around 1k words. However, it's pretty important given what it covers and if included in chapter 7, it would be far too long. So it stands on its own. This chapter sets up the events that are to come in the summer and is all about the adults. Enjoy!**

* * *

Amelia Bones never found it good news when an Unspeakable was in her office. But she asked the question she needed to anyway, "What did you find?"

"The diary is infected with the darkest magic we've ever seen," he answered. "But we've worked out just what it is."

"What is it?"

"A horcrux," he answered, elaborating, "it is a piece of a person's soul."

"And it is Voldemort's soul," Amelia concluded.

"Yes," the Unspeakable nodded. "A horcrux is very hard to destroy, Madame Bones."

"But it can be destroyed?" She checked.

"Oh yes. We've found two methods that work wonderfully. Basilisk venom and Fiendfyre."

Amelia became thoughtful, "Severus Snape took custody of the basilisk's remains. Perhaps he could do with giving us some of its venom."

"We also think it would be worthwhile to search the properties and vaults of imprisoned Death Eaters," the Unspeakable said. "We believe there's more than one horcrux, and if Lucius Malfoy had one, who's to say Bellatrix and others like her didn't?"

"Bellatrix has a vault and the old Black home is long vacant," Amelia mused. "I'll arrange for search warrants for both locations. Can you determine a horcrux?"

"Oh yes. We've isolated the magical signature and can identify them now. We're also looking into the past of Tom Marvolo Riddle, the name on the diary. No one ever knew Voldemort's legal name before. It's possible we can find all the horcruxes and destroy them."

"How many do you think he has?"

"Through clever interrogation of the diary we got him to admit to wanting to make seven. If the diary was the first, then that means there are six more."

"I will contact Severus Snape, ask about giving us some basilisk venom. And I think we should do a search of Hogwarts for one. The old man is known to hide things in the name of his alleged 'greater good'," Amelia frowned.

"Dumbledore won't allow us to search the castle."

"Cornelius is turning a sharp eye to Hogwarts after the basilisk attacks which Dumbledore assured him were 'not a concern' so I think Alexander Nott and the Board of Governors of Hogwarts would be willing to have the castle searched for any more hidden secrets that threaten their students," Amelia smiled, "We won't mention horcruxes to anyone unless necessary. Snape will need to know but otherwise I see no point in telling people."

"Agreed," the Unspeakable nodded. "Let us know when you have the warrants."

"I'll get the ones for known Death Eaters' vaults and homes immediately," Amelia nodded, picking up her quill to write up a warrant request.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Theo was quite bewildered by the muggle home of the Grangers, but after a month and a half with his sister he'd learned quite a bit about the muggle world, even if he'd not yet experienced it. "This will be your room, Theo dear," Helen Granger opened the door of the guest room. It was a nice size, Theo thought, and it wasn't like a guest room. It felt like someone's personal bedroom. "We're having rib eye for dinner. Alexander mentioned the two of you do plenty of grilling in the summer and Troy loves an excuse to get the grill out."

"Thank you for including me," he said. "I know you don't have to and this is weird and…"

"It's not a problem," Helen interrupted him, "She's my daughter, you're her brother. That makes you family, Theo. It's quite unconventional," she admitted, "but nothing about her life since we learned she's magical has been conventional."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Theo put his things away and used the bathroom across the hall before wandering downstairs. Hermione smiled and stood to take his hand, "Come on Theo, I'll give you a tour of the house. It's not a mansion, like you live in, but it's still a nice house."

Alexander joined them on the tour and when they got to the laundry room he smiled, "Here we have a portal to Nott Manor. I had it installed so you can go to and from the Manor easily," he smiled at his daughter. "A floo connection would be illegal, but this isn't. You simply step from one room to the other. Even muggles can use it and this way you two can practice your magic at the Manor. They can't tell who in a magical household casts magic."

"That's amazing," Hermione said, gazing at the portal. "So we can work on our homework at the manor and I can show my parents the things I've learned," she smiled, delighted with the option her father had created for her.

"I get to show you the Manor," Theo grinned. "That'll be awesome. And we can use the pool!"

"Thank you," Hermione said to her father before hugging him.

"You're welcome, dear," Alexander smiled and returned the hug, "now come on then you two. It's nearly time for dinner."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

As his children enjoyed summer vacation, Alexander Nott went to work. He claimed Lucius' spot on the Hogwarts' Board of Governors and set about making immediate changes at Hogwarts. His first target was the Muggles Studies curriculum. Even Draco Malfoy, who had never had any experiences with muggles, could have told you the course was a joke and full of incorrect information. In fact, Alexander thought even students like Draco could have taught the class better because they weren't burdened by what they thought they knew when they saw a car or a bus or a television. They might not understand the mechanics of electricity but they'd have been able to work out the machine's purpose in some way.

Alexander intended to make sure his children were safe at Hogwarts, and if he had to tear the castle down brick by brick to make that happen, that's what he would do. It was no secret that Dumbledore had loathed Lucius Malfoy. Alexander was fairly certain the old man missed the blonde Death Eater now that Alexander was on the board though. Alexander was not one to take a simple 'no' for an answer and if there was one thing Dumbledore hated, it was being forced to explain himself.


	7. You Don't Use Your Hands!

**A/N- This chap is 3x the length of the last. Hence the quick upload compared to the last one. I'm almost done with chapter 9, so I figured I'd upload this one a wee bit early. Lots of goodies in this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

During their first week of summer break Alexander took Theo and Hermione shopping in London to make sure Theo was adequately attired throughout the summer. Hermione also took Theo to see his first movie, which he was fascinated by. During the next week and a half mostly they worked on homework as they'd be unable to do so in France. Nor would they want to, in Theo's opinion.

"Is there anything in France you're especially excited to see?" Theo asked his sister as they rolled up their potions assignments.

"I'd like to see the Louvre museum," Hermione answered. "History has always intrigued me."

Theo nodded. He didn't have anything in particular he was eager to see, but he'd had a feeling his sister did. She was very well read, he knew that already, but she just seemed to like learning new things. Theo was definitely not the same but he had to admire her enthusiasm for learning. It was so radically different from Pansy & the Greengrass sisters.

Actually, the more time they spent together the more Theo thought that any aristocratic pureblood wizard would run for the hills if he went on a date with Hermione. She wasn't what they'd been raised to expect, and he doubted they'd know how to handle her. That set him at ease. Between their father not letting anyone get to her and Hermione's 'improper' pureblood attitude, maybe they could stave off the gold diggers. That would make him very happy. Although on the other hand, Theo wouldn't mind hexing a few of the pureblood idiots who were dumb enough to try and get to her. Especially if it was someone like Ernie MacMillan. That would be especially satisfactory.

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Draco Malfoy had never been happier in his life. While outside of Malfoy Manor he was the proper, no emotion pureblood teenager he was supposed to be, it was a completely different story when he was home. He slid down the banister on the main stairs, he ran through the halls. He did everything he'd always wanted to do but not been able to with Lucius Malfoy in the house.

When he'd gone home for a few days after the death of his father, his mother had taken him to his aunt's house where he met the family that had been struck off the Black family tree; Andromeda Tonks and her muggleborn husband Ted and her halfblood daughter Nymphadora Tonks. Who, for the record, hated her name with a passion. His mother had explained that she loathed his father's views and that all of that nonsense was stopping right that second. They would be spending plenty of time with the Tonks family.

For his part, Draco was happy to consort with people his father would have hated. If for no other reason than because he knew it would have enraged Lucius. He'd kept his head down at Hogwarts when he returned, but it felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders and next year things would be different. He was certain.

And he rather liked his cousin, who simply went by Tonks. She was in training to be an auror, having graduated from Hogwarts the year before, and Draco found the pink-haired witch very entertaining and great fun. She didn't even mind him hanging around despite being so much younger than her. For Draco, it was shaping up to be the best summer of his life.

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Albus Dumbledore watched the aurors enter the castle from his office's window. Never would he have thought removing Lucius Malfoy from the picture would make Cornelius Fudge so outspoken and determined. Albus was facing a hearing regarding his conduct as headmaster of Hogwarts and that wasn't a good feeling. He felt it was quite likely he could end up sacked. Especially if they found anything else in the school that could harm the students.

There were his other titles to be lost as well. And of course the Weasleys were facing the impending trial of their daughter for attacking Hogwarts students. He'd hoped the ministry would somehow blame Voldemort for it, as Albus was sure Voldemort was involved, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen from where he was standing.

When Madame Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour had cornered him and asked about the basilisk, he knew his answers weren't satisfactory. When she asked about Lockhart being a charlatan and his students and staff knew it, why didn't he? Well, Albus knew that was the beginning of the end. The trouble was that he had no good answer. No justifiable one. His teachers had all made it clear they found Lockhart a sham throughout the year. He'd ignored them.

He opted to stay in his office for this visit. He'd not even been able to face the children after Cornelius and Amelia had questioned him. It was certainly the most nerve-wracking summer Albus Dumbledore had had in a very long time.

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Amelia Bones had five Unspeakables with her as the group of aurors went through the school. The Board of Governors had given them full access when Cornelius had asked to have his aurors make sure there were no more threats hiding in the castle's walls. They found nothing of import on the first six floors, but on floor seven the Unspeakables discovered a hidden room. "Interesting," one of them said. "If I needed to hide something dangerous, a hidden room would be the best spot."

Amelia stood back as they studied it to work out how to open it. Ten minutes later, a door appeared and they entered, pulling out a horcrux detector they'd created to identify soul fragments of Tom Marvolo Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort. They'd already found Hufflepuff's Cup in Bellatrix's vault and they'd found Slytherin's locket in the Black family home. Snape had given them plenty of Basilisk venom and they, along with the diary, were already destroyed.

* * *

There was still the issue of what to do to the Weasley girl. After consulting with the Unspeakables, she and Rufus had come to an agreement. Voldemort's influence couldn't be ignored but telling people that Voldemort was still around was not a good idea. They feared Death Eaters would get aggressive again or worse try to work out how to bring back their not quite dead master. They had a different idea. The healers at St. Mungo's had explained that the girl had no actual mental issues. She had been possessed, but still had plenty of control over her actions. Certainly enough to be held accountable for them.

They also could say that the only thing that seemed to be lingering damage from the diary was her memory. It seemed like Voldemort had managed to wipe or suppress her memory from each attack. Presumably, the Unspeakables hypothesized, because he wanted the girl to go insane and then he could fully possess her. The diary possessed a weakened Voldemort, whose powers were severely lacking but not to the point he couldn't have fully possessed her if her mind had completely gone.

However, no one could agree with what to do with the girl. Azkaban wasn't seen as an option for any child. However they could hardly lock her up in the incurably insane ward of St. Mungo's. She wasn't insane. But they had to punish her. She could not be allowed to get away with her crime.

Amelia had contacted other countries to inquire about their juvenile facilities for magical children who committed crimes. France had a juvenile facility on an island off their northern coast, not all that far from England, and had offered it up to her. Amelia thought that was the best option. It was close enough her parents could visit her. At age 21 she could be transferred over to Azkaban if the girl hadn't shown any mental signs of improvement. If she had, well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

* * *

After an hour of searching the room that was filled with random objects they found a horcrux and promptly destroyed it. "We should finish our search," Amelia said, "But I certainly feel better about children being at this school now that that thing is gone."

"Agreed," an Unspeakable nodded as they left the room.

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"Honestly Theo, it's not that complicated," Hermione told her brother.

"How is this game popular? There's only one ball, you can't use your hands-"

"Except the goalkeeper," Hermione interrupted.

"-and you kick the ball into the net?" Theo shook his head, "I really don't get how it could be popular."

"Attend an actual game and you would," Troy smirked. He found teaching the young man about footy hilarious. While Alexander had clearly kept himself aware of non-magical things, Theo hadn't been taught about them at all and so Troy had the privilege of teaching Theo to ride a bike (Alexander had given them the cash to get Theo his own) and now about football. Theo had quickly grasped riding a bicycle, and enjoyed it, but football was clearly puzzling for someone who grew up watching quidditch. "I think I have some season reviews that show highlights. I'll dig them out tonight and you can watch a few, get an idea of the game."

"That's a great idea," Hermione smiled. It was hard to explain a sport played by 22 players when there were only three of you. "It's almost time for lunch anyway."

"Come on we can wash up and go out to get something," Troy said.

* * *

"I like this," Theo said as he collected rent from Helen Granger after she landed on his property, "Actually, lots of Slytherins would like it. Draco would probably crush everyone in our house."

"We can get you your own copy of Monopoly to take to school," Troy suggested.

"You should show him Battleship, Hermione," Helen told her daughter.

"You'd like that too but it's a bit easier to cheat at that," Hermione mused.

"Really? Sounds interesting," he gave her a small smile.

"You'd cheat in a heartbeat, wouldn't you?" She glared at him.

"It's not cheating, it's seizing on an opportunity," Theo grinned.

"Remind me to never play more than one Slytherin at a time," Hermione said.

"Oh Blaise would definitely cheat," Theo nodded. "He's horrible when we play cards." A bemused Helen and Troy shared a smile at Theo's enthusiasm. Hermione had never had a friend before Hogwarts, which had concerned them. And her friendship with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had them uncomfortable after she'd been hurt at school and they'd met the Weasley parents, Arthur interrogating them about batteries and plugs. Honestly, they'd written wizards off as completely daft.

But Alexander wasn't, and the two dentists felt bad for Theo not having his mother. They had wanted another child, but been very content to just have Hermione. And it might seem odd, sharing custody with Alexander, but they felt sympathy for the man who'd lost his wife so young and had to raise his son on his own. From what he'd told them, Alexander's parents and in-laws were monsters and he'd devoted much of Theo's life to protecting him from them.

Theo was a delight to the Grangers. He was polite, intelligent, and he was able to keep Hermione from being swallowed up in her books, which was a feat as far as they were concerned. It was very hard to keep her out of them for long, typically, but she was incredibly invested in teaching Theo about the non-magical world and they were delighted to see her playing around more as she exposed Theo to it.

* * *

"I hope we get a competent DADA teacher next year," Hermione mused as she checked over the worksheet the ex-auror who'd been teaching the class had given them to complete over the summer.

"That would be nice," Theo agreed. "Maybe now that our father is on the board he can make sure we actually get someone who knows what they're talking about."

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"You want a werewolf to teach our children," Alexander said, gazing at Dumbledore like he was an idiot.

"With the Wolfsbane Potion it isn't an issue," Dumbledore insisted.

"I find that hard to believe, given all he has to do is miss a dose and he's in a castle with easy access to victims," Alexander frowned. "I know who Remus Lupin is, Albus. I was only two years below him in school. And he's already nearly killed a fellow student, why the devil would we make him a professor?"

The old headmaster paled at the mention of Remus nearly killing a fellow student but he tried to ignore that dig, "He's the only viable candidate."

"That isn't true," Thomas Corcoran frowned, "Minister Fudge has offered to install an auror in the school as the professor. I understand he's also suggested several cursebreakers from Gringotts as an option, given the rumors that the position is cursed."

"I really do think that Remus would…"

"We're not putting a werewolf around children," Alexander stated unequivocally. "I am a parent and I wouldn't want him near my children; there will be outrage when people find out just who is teaching their children defense."

"The board is in full agreement," Corcoran nodded. "We will not be hiring Remus Lupin. We will get either an auror or a cursebreaker; whichever individual we deem most fit for the role."

Marlene Diggle gazed at Albus, "You would do well to remember, Albus, that you are on very thin ice after all you've done this past year to your students." Thinking of his upcoming court date, Albus Dumbledore could only nod and leave the room. "Oh, Albus?" He turned and looked at the old witch, "We want the pets rule enforced. Only a cat, owl, or toad. Nothing else. It is our understanding you've been letting some students get away with taking a pet rat to school. That ends this year. Cat, owl, or toad are the options. End of story." With that Dumbledore was dismissed, feeling very minor for the first time in a long time after meeting with the Board of Governors.

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While Hermione was teaching Theo about muggle culture and things, Theo and Alexander in turn were teaching her about pureblood culture. While learning about her biological family was very interesting, she was not amused with the courting rituals which were either innocuous or just obnoxious. In Hermione's opinion, it was all insufferable. "I really don't think I'll be as desired as you think I will be," she said. "I was hardly noticed the end of this year."

"That will change when we go back to school," Theo said. "If Father won't sign off on a betrothal, they can still trap you into one."

Hermione sighed, "So I can't accept presents from any pureblood."

"Or allow them to buy you anything," Alexander added.

"Yes, yes, I know," Hermione tried not to roll her eyes. This was so stupid. But it was important to her brother and father, and so she was trying to not be so judgmental about it. For better or worse, this was part of being pureblood and she wanted to learn about the family she came from. "Anything else?"

"Plenty but these are the most important things," Alexander said. "Pureblood culture has many things that won't apply to you but betrothals do and no one hates muggles so much that a pureblood witch just happening to be raised in the muggle world would be a dealbreaker."

Hermione grimaced and he gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know this is much to take in. I'm not saying your classmates are insidious and would do these things, but their parents might push them into it."

"Anyone who tries this won't be very pleased with what happens to them," Hermione mused. Alexander smiled. There was no denying she was his daughter. He had a similar vengeful streak.

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Harry Potter sat up in his room at the Dursley home, brooding. He'd been angry at Hermione and certain she was lying about Dumbledore the night he'd learned she was actually a Nott. But after Colin and the others had woken up, they'd said the same thing. Dumbledore had refused treatment to the petrified students, and only Alexander Nott's assertion of his parental rights had made the headmaster back down. They couldn't all be lying, could they? Colin had even walked up to Nott and thanked him for healing them. Ever since the other students had woken up, Harry had found himself unsure about Dumbledore. If he was the greatest light sided wizard ever then why would Dumbledore refuse the help Nott had offered? How come Nott and Snape had done in a day what Dumbledore hadn't done in months? Either Snape & Nott were exceptionally powerful wizards or Dumbledore wasn't concerned about the muggleborn students. There was really no other option in that matter.

Then there was that bizarre interaction between Alexander Nott and his uncle. Whatever that was (Harry still wasn't sure), the Dursleys had never treated him better. He was mostly ignored, not forced to do millions of chores, and Hedwig was allowed to roam outside at night. Harry was even allowed to do his homework downstairs at the dining room table, which was something he'd never imagined happening in a million years.

Harry'd also been able to get a subscription to the Daily Prophet after writing to Arthur & Molly asking how to set one up. Somehow they'd signed him up for it and Harry felt more aware of his world, getting to read the goings on every day. There was plenty of news to catch up on and most of it related to the goings on at Hogwarts.

He'd savored seeing that Lockhart was sentenced to life in Azkaban after casting the memory charm over ten times (the aurors were apparently combing his books to acquire the exact number but were finding it difficult), with all the victims thus far unable to have their memories restored. Apparently that was a crime taken very, very seriously in the wizarding world.

When it came to Dumbledore, the reading wasn't positive. His various positions were all under review but he'd already lost the title of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. The papers didn't pull any punches regarding what had happened at Hogwarts. The Lockhart fiasco just made things worse. Although when Harry thought about Lockhart's reason for going to Hogwarts, and how Dumbledore seemed aware that Lockhart was a fraud and uninterested that the students weren't getting an education, it was hard to feel much sympathy for the headmaster. A competent DADA professor might have been able to recognize and stop the attacks sooner. Especially if they were an ex-auror like their temporary instructor toward the end of the year was.

Harry had learned more in a month with their temporary instructor than he'd learned all year under Lockhart. He hoped they had someone just as good the next year. It would be hard to go from someone so good to someone horrible.

The more Harry thought about events at Hogwarts that year, the more he was thinking he'd really screwed up and let his temper get the better of him. Not just his temper either. He had to admit, one of his first thoughts upon learning Hermione was a Nott was that she'd desert him for Theo and the Slytherin would occupy all her time. He did feel jealous of Hermione. She suddenly learns about her magical relatives and has a brother and father in their world while Harry…Harry had no one. Just his friends and the Weasleys. He owed Hermione an apology. And he owed one to Snape, Alexander, and Theo Nott. No matter his personal feelings about Snape, the man had done nothing to be accused of wanting one of his students dead. Harry had all summer to work on his apology. He didn't want to do it via letter; he'd said terrible things to Hermione's face. He owed her a face to face apology.

* * *

 **A/N- RE: Lupin. Honestly, Lupin was never going to come into the fic this way (he still could, somehow, but I'm not quite sure how that would happen yet). It's got nothing to do with bigotry and everything to do with, as Alexander points out, one missed dose and he has a castle full of victims almost completely unable to defend themselves from him. I cannot see any parents finding that an acceptable option.**


	8. He Didn't! Did He?

**A/N- Summer marches on into July as Ginny's sentence is revealed, the Grangers plus Theo go to France, and Harry starts to get curious about his parents and the Dursleys' attitude toward him.**

* * *

The day before they left for France Alexander arrived at the Granger home with news. "Ginny Weasley has been sentenced to 9 years in a French juvenile facility for her part in the attacks. Once she's 21 they'll determine if she's been rehabilitated or not. If not, she'll serve longer in Azkaban."

"Because of the diary's influence she's potentially getting a second chance," Hermione said. Her father nodded in answer. "Well, at least we won't have to see her at school."

"Good," Theo said.

"Did you finish your homework today?" Alexander asked them.

"Yes," Theo nodded. "Hermione even admitted I'm not an idiot."

"I know you're not an idiot," Hermione rolled her eyes at her brother. "Honestly Theo. Just because I checked your work…"

"Three times," Theo stage whispered to his father and the Grangers, who all three laughed.

Hermione shoved him, "Keep it up and I will retract that admission."

Theo pouted and Alexander ruffled his hair, "Now come on son, you know she has a quick tongue just like you do."

"Yeah but she doesn't have to be so good at it," he argued.

"Yes I do. After all, I don't pout nearly as well as you do," she teased him. Theo chuckled at that. He _was_ pretty good at pouting.

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Early the next morning Theo was roused from sleep by Helen Granger, "Come on then Theo. Get up and get ready. We leave in an hour," she said gently. Theo nodded and sat up, rubbing his eyes. It would be his first plane ride and he was looking forward to it. Theo got up and grabbed the clothes he'd laid out the night before before heading across the hall to the bathroom.

When he exited Hermione was waiting, "Morning," he greeted her.

"Good morning Theo," she said. "Are you done?"

"Yeah it's all yours," he nodded. Hermione entered the bathroom and shut the door, and Theo returned to get the knapsack that the Grangers had bought him out of his room. After making sure the books he wanted to take with him (he'd been reading some muggle books & comic books that summer) were in it he headed downstairs.

Helen was in the kitchen with a pot of boiling water, making tea with a plate of scones sitting out. "A light snack before we go. We should be in France just in time for breakfast."

Theo took a scone from the plate and sat down at the counter. Helen gave him a cup of juice and Theo ate as he waited for his sister and Troy. Troy soon entered the kitchen, "I called a cab. Should be here soon."

"So we're just waiting on Hermione," Helen said, giving her husband a cup of tea, "grab a bite."

"I will," Troy nodded, settling down on a stool and grabbing a scone.

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Hermione came down a few minutes later, "Morning Daddy," she said, kissing her father on the cheek.

"Good morning," Troy smiled at his daughter. "Excited for our vacation?"

"Yes," she nodded, sitting down next to Theo. "Where are we going first?"  
"Paris for a week and a half. We'll move further south as the summer goes on," Helen answered.

They heard a knock on the door and Troy stood, "That'll be the cab to the airport," he said, going to check. A few minutes later he returned, "Grab your things. It's time to go."

Heathrow airport was very crowded but the airplane ride was very interesting to Theo. He was right; flying on a broom was better. But the airplane made some sense, given how many more people you could take on a plane than on a broom. And he couldn't get that high on his broom, which was pretty cool. The start of his first ever vacation abroad with his sister. Theo couldn't wait for them to land and get started exploring France.

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Their first day they settled into their hotel and explored the area around it. Day two they went to the Eiffel Tower, which Theo was admittedly impressed with. Day three was what he knew Hermione was eager for. The Louvre Museum.

There was nothing like a museum in the wizarding world. Theo had no point of comparison to really compare it to. But as his sister led him through the exhibits he again felt very impressed by the ingenuity and talent of muggles. Wizards had paintings too, obviously, and even statues. But all done with the aid of magic and that non-magicals could work out some way to do the same thing was really very impressive to him. And some of the paintings of dragons and other magical creatures were actually quite accurate, which impressed him, though the sillier and completely wrong ones were rather amusing to gaze at.

Hermione leaned into him and spoke softly, "Isn't it amazing?"

"Yeah," he nodded, gazing at the statue, "What's with all the small genitalia though?"

"The Ancient Greeks didn't believe in bragging about size," Hermione whispered. Theo chuckled. His sister wasn't quite as innocent as she appeared, and she had a good sense of humor. He liked getting to see this side of her, away from Hogwarts. "I like seeing what past civilizations were able to create. It's amazing how innovative they could be."

"Yeah," Theo nodded. "I'm kind of surprised by how naked most of these paintings and statues are, though." Knowing how conservative 'aristocratic purebloods' could be from her lessons from her father and brother, Hermione nodded in understanding. "Daphne and Pansy would have heart attacks looking at some of these," Theo quietly chuckled.

That had Hermione thinking back to the conversation their night before (they had a room to themselves while her parents were next door in their room).

~Flashback~

"You really don't like the ones who act all aristocratic, do you?" Hermione asked. At first she'd thought he hated Draco because of Lucius, but after spending so much time with him she was beginning to think he hated the aristocratic purebloods as a whole.

"They're fake," Theo frowned. "Their whole personalities are fake. They keep up an image and hide their actual selves all because of some stupid code."  
"I've seen you act the same way," she pointed out.

"Not like them. Hiding my emotions isn't the same as hiding my personality," Theo argued. "Pansy and Daphne are not dumb twits who can be nothing without a man. But that's the way they act now and the way they will act in the future because it is how their parents have decided they should act to capture a husband. I pity the poor bastards that end up with them."

"I like this rebellious anti-pureblood side of you," Hermione teased him. "It's nice to know I'm not alone in disliking it."

"Part of pureblood culture is really cool," Theo said. "It's neat, knowing that our relatives built up magical England. But on the other hand, there are some annoying sides to it and that one in particular really irritates me."

~End Flashback~

"I'm going to have encounters with them next year, aren't I?" Hermione sighed.

"Probably," Theo nodded. "But you'll scare them off," he chuckled, making Hermione shove him playfully.

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Harry walked into the kitchen to see his aunt preparing tea, "Aunt Petunia?"

Petunia stiffened, though Harry wasn't sure if it was surprise since her back had been to him when he entered or it was that he was Harry. "Yes?" She asked him, turning her head to glance at him before she put the tea kettle on the stove.

"Did you ever meet any of my mum's friends? Someone put together a photo album for me of them but honestly I don't know any of the people in it. I saw pictures of their wedding, though, and you weren't in any of them." Petunia gave him an appraising look, as though she wasn't sure if she should answer. "Everyone in my world is always telling me how great my parents were. But a man a few years younger than them, who hid his daughter in the muggle world to keep her safe, he went to school with them and said otherwise. So I looked through my book of them and I realized that your parents and you aren't in any of the photos. I just want to know what my parents were like. Warts and all."

Petunia got some teacakes out of a package, "We weren't invited to the wedding. Lily shut us out of her life as soon as she went off to that school. My parents always made excuses for her. They were so proud of _her,_ of course. A witch. I could never measure up to her despite her never being around."

Harry took that in before asking, "Is that why you're so angry with my mum?"

Petunia put the plate of teacakes onto the table, "I didn't even know she died. You know how I found out?" she opened a drawer and reached to the back before pulling out a letter which she thrust into his hand, "That is how I found out that my baby sister was dead. You on my back step in a bundle and this letter with you. _Those people_ didn't even have the decency to ring the bloody doorbell. You could have frozen to death overnight or been kidnapped."

Curious, Harry opened the letter. He recognized the tone. It was very succinct. The Potters were dead. Harry needed someone to raise him. Then there was the veiled threat. Well. Alexander Nott had been right about that. Dumbledore did threaten them. They weren't even asked if they could take him in. Just ordered to raise him. Dumbledore would be back if they sent Harry away. As muggles, they must have been terrified of the threat of a wizard.

Still, that didn't count for the Dursleys' actions toward him. Until he reread the note. If a diary could ensnare you, could a letter? The Dursleys probably wouldn't even notice because they were muggles and unused to magic. "Can I send this to a magical detective? They could work out if Dumbledore did anything to the house," Harry carefully suggested.

"Do with it what you want," Petunia answered with a shrug. Harry hurried upstairs. He really hated what he was thinking about but on the other hand, it explained the Dursleys bizarre behavior and he needed to know.

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As Arthur Weasley watched his daughter enter the visitor's room he felt his stomach twist. How had he missed it? How had the boys missed it? How had Albus missed it? No, Arthur could excuse himself. The diary had done its job when Arthur wasn't there to protect Ginny. His sons? Ron wasn't exactly the most attentive to his sister or really any of his siblings; the twins had quidditch and their own friends. Percy had head boy responsibilities, upcoming NEWTs, and his secret girlfriend. And her personality hadn't altered that dramatically, from what the aurors had told him. They were just teenagers, and it was unfair to hold his four boys accountable for what Ginny had done.

But Albus should have known. About the basilisk, about the fact that it was stalking people who'd irritated or upset Harry Potter. That Ginny was infatuated with the lad. It was all so obvious. Arthur considered himself a calm, kind, forgiving man. But he had no forgiveness for Albus Dumbledore. Not in this. Arthur had trusted the man with his children. And Dumbledore had let one of them be enraptured by a dark object and attack students without even trying to work out what the creature was or who was behind the attacks.

"Daddy," Ginny smiled. "Mum!"

"Hello dear," Molly hugged her daughter.

As Molly informed Ginny about the goings on of her brothers Arthur sat in silence. Molly could forgive her daughter far faster than Arthur could. She'd attacked other students. Her housemates. Hermione. It was a miracle no one had died in the attacks. If they had, well Arthur was sure his daughter's sentence would be Azkaban no matter the diary's influence. In all honesty the sentence was rather light, given what she'd done. 10 years minimum, and then when she was 21 they'd decide whether to move her to Azkaban or whether she was no longer a risk to others. Arthur thought it was optimistic to think Ginny would be released at 21, though that didn't stop Molly from consoling herself it would 'only' be ten years.

He knew his wife was devastated. His whole family was. Ron had been in complete denial when he arrived home that summer. However since watching Ginny be sentenced for her crime, he'd become silent around the house. Molly cried nearly every night. The twins seemed to lack that flair and zest for life that so defined them previously. Percy, who the previous summer had been so excited for his NEWTs and working in the ministry after graduation, was morose. Bill and Charlie were out of the country, which Arthur counted as a blessing. He had come under scrutiny at the Ministry because of Ginny's actions, making him very nervous. He understood they needed to investigate him after what had happened, but he had never before felt so fearful of losing his job.

Ultimately, Arthur had kept his job. Which was a relief to the family. Fudge had suggested his children seeing a mind healer to make sure they were okay after everything that had happened and Arthur had quite agreed with that suggestion. Percy had accepted the option, as had the twins. Ron had stubbornly refused. Arthur hadn't pushed it. Molly was dubious about mind healers and he knew she'd take their youngest son's side in that argument.

The twins and Percy had been attending therapy for a few weeks and there was a clear improvement in their behavior and attitudes. At least some of his family seemed to be recovering from what had happened.

Arthur glanced at his watch. Time seemed to have wandered away from him as he thought about the situation they were in. "Molly dear, it's almost time to go."

"Of course," Molly hugged Ginny. "Your father will get around to forgiving you dear. He's just been under pressure at work," she whispered into her daughter's ear. Ginny gave her a nervous smile. Her father hadn't said much to her since her arrest. Barely anything, really. Being a daddy's girl, that was crushing.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Amelia Bones entered Cornelius Fudge's office, "Cornelius, are you still seeking for ways to oust Dumbledore from Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Cornelius answered. "Why? Do you have some way to do it?"

"I just received a letter from Harry Potter. He thinks Dumbledore did something to his muggle relatives to make them hate him and abuse him."

Cornelius' eyes widened at the thought. After a moment to collect his thoughts he asked, "Do you believe Mr. Potter?"

"I think it has merit and a study of his relatives by a healer should verify or disprove his claims," Amelia answered.

"Well then by all means, go investigate them," Cornelius said. "I'll arrange for permits to perform magic on muggles."

"I'll contact St. Mungo's. I also thought we should consider a curse breaker from Gringotts to assist if necessary."

"Do as you see fit Amelia," Cornelius nodded. If the claims were true, then no one would object to Dumbledore being sacked as headmaster and Hogwarts could quit being held back by the old man. Although if the claims were true, Albus was going to be Azkaban's most famous guest.


	9. Of Course He Did!

**A/N- I've actually got nothing to say for this chapter. Pretty self-explanatory. Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry had to admire Amelia Bones' professionalism and the professionalism of the healers who were checking over the Dursleys. Despite all three members of his family being frightened of magic, the healers had managed to perform magical scans on them without further upsetting the muggles. The frowns on their faces told him he was right. Something had been done to the Dursleys.

"Albus," Amelia growled. "I will have your head for this," she muttered. The cursebreaker was currently studying the house to determine if magic had been used on it but she had the feeling he would be returning with similar confirmation.

"Mrs. Dursley, you've been enchanted," the female healer, a bit older than his aunt, informed her. "We can remove it, if you wish."

"What's she enchanted to do?" Harry asked.

"Hate you," the healer answered, not pulling any punches. "Such charms are easier to cast on muggles as they don't have any magic of their own to combat it. The same spell performed on you would eventually fade depending on your age and magical ability. On your aunt it has lingered for around 12 years or so."

"Will removing it…hurt?" Petunia asked quietly.

"Not at all," the healer assured her. "If anything, you'll feel instantly better. Such spells have a habit of altering a person's personality. Especially if you're under them for an extended period of time." Petunia nodded her permission to remove it and the healer cast the spell.

* * *

The Dursleys all felt tired after the spells were removed, a normal side effect for muggles according to the healers. Harry watched the healers tuck them up in their beds before he walked downstairs and held his head in his hands. "Mr. Potter?" Amelia Bones asked gently.

"I trusted him completely," Harry muttered. "Total and complete obedience. Hermione told me otherwise and I dismissed her. I threw away her friendship over Dumbledore and here he casts magic on my guardians and cousin to make them hate me and treat me horribly. I'm a fool. What do I do now?"

Amelia sat down next to him, "When Alexander Nott informed me of what Lucius Malfoy had done, from the lips of the Malfoy heir no less, I had to tell him that I couldn't prosecute. That was very difficult for me. When I learned that the other children weren't given the potion because Albus was withholding it I could do nothing to stop it." Harry looked at her, confused. "Sometimes we are helpless and when it comes to changing the past, Mr. Potter, you will always be helpless. So you change the future. I couldn't help those students then. The Wizengamot has passed laws making it so that muggleborns and their parents will be more aware of their rights in our world. You cannot change whatever you said to your friend. You can't take it back. But you can make it right." Harry nodded at her words. That sounded like pretty great advice, "But first I think your relatives will need your attention. Healers will be monitoring them closely in the coming weeks. They might be like complete strangers to you. It's hard to say how heavily their personalities were altered by Albus. And I must ask you say nothing about this. We intend to file charges when Albus arrives for his hearing about his horrible decisions as headmaster. Surprise will serve us well in arresting him."

"I understand," Harry nodded. "Thank you for helping them."

"It's our pleasure," Amelia promised him. "Now then, if you need anything or have any questions here's the healer's card and you already know how to contact me. The Gringotts cursebreaker has set up some wards so that if any magical other than you arrives here at the house an alarm will go off in the Auror department. We doubt Dumbledore will show up but this is just to be safe." Harry nodded his understanding.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Alexander Nott smiled as he read the letter. He'd managed to secure an entire box for the Quidditch World Cup and with it a chance to meet the two teams that would be playing in the final. He looked forward to telling his children about it. They could bring friends with them next summer and he knew his son would especially love getting to meet professional quidditch players.

He put the letter and box information aside and headed to the floo. He would be staying in a wizarding hotel in the wizard side of Paris, and his children would be joining him for the next few days. They'd arranged for the time to include Theo's birthday and he was looking forward to showing them that side of Paris. Magical Paris was different from Diagon Alley in some big ways and he wanted to show it to them just as their mother had first showed him.

"Pax!" He called out.

A house elf appeared, "Yes Master?" It asked.

"I'm off to Paris now. Please make sure all mail and any birthday presents sent to Theo are forwarded to the hotel."

"We will sir," the elf bowed.

"I'll see you in four days or so," Alexander said. "Take care of the house."

"Of course! Master should enjoy himself in Paris," Pax said. "We will take care of Nott Manor."

"Thank you Pax," he said before flooing to the hotel.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione undressed and put on her pajamas before exiting the bathroom to see Theo sitting on her bed, "Tomorrow we get to visit magical Paris!" Theo grinned. "Isn't it exciting?"

"Very," Hermione nodded. Tomorrow they'd have breakfast with their father and then head into magical Paris for the first time. She was very curious to see what it was like. "Now come on, who is the most annoying person in Slytherin house?"

They had lots of these silly late night discussions since they shared a room. She liked it. Not only was it learning about one another it was about how they each saw life at Hogwarts. Theo stretched, "That's easy. Daphne."

"Not Draco? You introduced him as an irritant," Hermione reminded him with a laugh.

"Well yeah, I did," Theo admitted. "But he's mostly annoying to other houses; especially Gryffindors. As a roommate he's one of the best. He at least appreciates the concepts of hygiene and personal space. In a boys' dorm I don't have to tell you how important the former is."

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought, "Why Daphne?"

"She's the most entitled person I've ever met. And I share a bloody dorm with Draco Malfoy & Blaise Zabini so that should tell you something." Theo stretched, "Your turn. Most annoying Gryffindor. Which sounds redundant but it isn't," he stuck his tongue out at his sister playfully.

"Prat," she smacked him with a pillow. "I suppose if I had to choose I would say the most annoying Gryffindor is Ron."

"I'd agree with that," Theo nodded. "Why do _you_ think so?"

"He's very possessive of Harry; monopolizes his time and attention so that Harry doesn't really associate with others. He's the one most hostile toward other houses. Mocks Ravenclaw's thirst for knowledge, Hufflepuff's modesty, and Slytherin he just calls evil. Ron's also very judgmental and if he doesn't like you, or doesn't like something you're interested in, say reading or footy, he'll dismiss your interests as stupid and lame and a waste of time."

"I sense anger and loathing," Theo smirked.

"I was an early target of his when we arrived at Hogwarts. Frankly there's nothing outside of 'mudblood' that has been thrown at me as a slur that Ronald hasn't taunted me about himself," Hermione bit her lip, "Honestly, I don't think I've quite got over that."

"Understandable. It's hard to forgive people who feel no guilt or shame for their actions," Theo shrugged.

Hermione moved on, "Most annoying Hufflepuff?"

"Ernie," Theo answered.

"Agreed," Hermione nodded. "Ravenclaw?"

"I find them all annoying," Theo mused. "But of them all I think Padma & Su are the ones easiest to deal with. They're not so snobbish as their housemates."

"Terry is the worst easily," Hermione laughed, "he once asked me why I had the nerve to borrow a book from the library for Transfiguration when _he_ needed it to study for his exams."

"He's such an absolute tosser," Theo snorted. "He tried that shite with Draco our first year and Draco put him in his place."

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Explained the definition of a library to him," Theo laughed, Hermione joining him. "It was hilarious. You should have seen the look on his face as Draco slowly explained a library's purpose is to lend out books all while looking at him like he was an idiot. Boot has never asked us for anything since."

"That's pretty brilliant," Hermione said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Draco might be an irritant but no one does a better job of feeding someone back their own shite," Theo said proudly. "He's a prince in Slytherin for that reason. That and he won us the quidditch cup."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Quidditch. "I really don't get the appeal of the game."

"If you saw a professional team, you might understand it better," Theo said. "A bit like how I didn't understand football until you showed me tapes of professional sides."

"Perhaps," Hermione mused. "What do you want for your birthday, Theo?"

"Just getting to spend this summer with you is all I could ask for," Theo answered. "You don't have to get me anything."

Hermione pouted, "I can't get my brother a birthday present?"

"Of course you can," Theo assured her. "Whatever you get me I'll love it, I'm sure," he added, not wanting to upset her.

Hermione smiled and laid down on her bed, "Maybe I _can_ pout just as well as you."

"Why you!" Theo grabbed a pillow and hit her with it. Hermione laughed and responded in kind as the two began a pillow fight.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next morning they packed up their suitcases and headed downstairs to meet their father who was already there, chatting with Troy and Helen Granger. Hermione smiled at how easily he fit into the muggle world. She hugged him when they got to him, "I've missed you both," Alexander said, hugging his daughter tightly and then his son. "Have you had fun?"

"It's been awesome," Theo nodded.

"Alright then, let's go explore a different part of the city," Alexander said. "We'll meet you in a few days then before you head to Bordeaux."

"Have fun," Helen hugged her daughter and then Theo, "and behave yourselves."

"I'm an angel," Theo assured her, making Alexander snort in laughter. "Hey!"

"While I'm sure you've been on your best behavior, you are not an angel, Theo," Alexander smirked. Hermione laughed at the pout on Theo's face.

After saying goodbye to the Grangers the three Notts left the hotel and Alexander hailed a cab to take them to the entrance to the wizarding side of Paris, which was actually rather close to the old outdoor market that had once upon a time been the center of activity in the city. "How do we get in?" Theo asked as they approached. "Is it like Diagon Alley?"

"It's more like going to King's Cross and entering the Hogwarts platform," Alexander answered. "Right here," he said as they approached a back wall. "Go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Theo entered first and Hermione quickly followed, the pair gazing in wonder as a whole new section of the city appeared before their eyes. "Wow," Hermione said.

"Big wow," Theo agreed. "This is cool."

"It is, isn't it?" Alexander appeared behind them, "I thought the same when Aurelia first showed it to me. It's so different to Diagon Alley."

It truly was. Where Diagon Alley felt tight and as though the buildings were closing in on you, this area was open and spacious, and it looked much like muggle Paris, though the shop signs were all for magical items. Not unlike the old market they'd just walked through, though. It was a seamless transition between the two areas. "Where should we go first?" Hermione asked her father.

"Let's get some breakfast and then we can go exploring," he suggested. "There's a nice little café just over there we can eat at."

* * *

They enjoyed their quick breakfast and then their father led them up the street as they gazed at the different buildings and shop windows. It wasn't all shops either. There was a government building too and the more they walked the more Hermione had the feeling that this was a city unto itself, not a mere street like Diagon Alley. "How much bigger is it than Diagon Alley?" She asked her father.

"Four, maybe five times," he answered. "It's much more like muggle London than the Alley."

That was an accurate statement as they walked down the main street and took in the sights. Shops, services, residential, all interwoven. It was fascinating to the siblings. Alexander enjoyed seeing how impressed and interested they were. It mirrored his own reaction when Aurelia had first showed _him_ the place.

* * *

All morning they explored the city, going into a few shops but mostly content to walk around and enjoy the different street vendors. "Are all capital cities like this?" Hermione asked when they stopped for lunch. "Across the wizarding world?"

"Yes," Alexander nodded. "Most major cities in Europe have sections that are magical. Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, Rome, Milan, Naples, and Turin in Italy, France has Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, and of course Paris. Each country has all wizarding villages too, of course, just like we do."

"Hey we get to go to Hogsmeade this year!" Theo suddenly realized. "That will be awesome!"

"Yes you do," Alexander nodded. "The permission slips will arrive with your supply lists."

"When will we get those?" Hermione asked.

"Sometime after Dumbledore's hearing."

"Do you think he'll finally be fired?" Theo asked, hoping that he would. Good riddance to the bastard who'd let his sister get hurt, in Theo's opinion.

"I can only hope so. Amelia Bones came by the school recently and found some dark objects within it that she cleared out. But I don't know any details about it. The ministry is still investigating. I trust Fudge to do his due diligence. Now that Lucius isn't pulling the strings the man is much more efficient. I might even vote for him next election," he added with a chuckle.

Hermione was very interested in that and over lunch Alexander found himself explaining how the magical political system in Britain worked to his very curious daughter. When Theo excused himself to the bathroom she asked her father, "I want to get Theo a birthday present but he's not being very helpful with what he could want. Do you have any ideas?"

"A few," he nodded. "I wanted to get him a new broomstick. Nimbus 2001. He wants to try out for the Slytherin team as a beater or chaser."

"Oh! Well then there's lots of things those two positions need, isn't there?"

"Yes," he nodded. Hermione smiled. That was very helpful. "We'll go into a quidditch shop here. I can distract Theo in the broom section while you find what you want to get him," he handed her a bag of gold, "I got gold for each of you to spend while we're here."

"Thank you," Hermione said.

"You are my heiress, dear. Same as Theo. You two get half the estate each."

"You didn't have to do that," she blushed.

"You're my daughter," Alexander took her hand in his, "I might have had to give you up, Hermione, but that doesn't stop you being my daughter. So yes, I did have to do that."

"I just want to get to know you and Theo. I don't want or need the money," Hermione insisted.

"I know that," he said. "Which is admirable, and proves me right in choosing the Grangers to raise you. But I will not be denying you your birthright. In fact, I take satisfaction that there's a muggle influence in the family now. That should make my father turn in his grave." Hermione smiled at that and their conversation ceased as Theo returned.

* * *

They did go to the quidditch store after lunch and while Theo and Alexander looked at brooms and talked about them, Hermione found some very nice quidditch armor and gloves designed for chasers or beaters. The shop owner wrapped them up for her and even shrunk them down so she could hide her purchase from her brother after she'd paid. She didn't want Theo to know what she'd got him.

They also visited a confectionery & chocolatier shop which they were both very interested in. There were many different things to what they'd find in England and they bought lots of treats to try them. Then Alexander suggested they visit a shop that sold beauty and hair products. "I remember the things Aurelia used to use on her hair," he explained to Hermione. "It should make things easier for you."

"That sounds incredible," Hermione smiled. "I'd love to have an easier time with my hair."

After a quick stop at that shop they continued to explore until dinner time, which they had at their hotel. Afterward they went up to their room, "You two have your own side room," he said. "It's a large suite. Two bedrooms, three beds, two baths in the suite, plus the living area."

"We're used to sharing," Theo said. Hermione nodded.

It was a very opulent suite. Hermione looked around the room. It was incredibly luxurious. Was this what she was supposed to get used to, being a Nott? That would take some work.


	10. Harry's New Reality!

A/N- This is one of those shorter chaps with lots of content stuck into it. I wasn't too sure how I wanted to handle the Dumbledore situation. Like write out the actual event or describe it as I did Ginny's...ultimately I went with a newspaper article as I didn't want to give Dumbledore too much focus. I had a reviewer ask if Dumbledore or Voldemort was the bad guy. Why can't they both be the bad guy? They certainly are in this fic.

This chap offers up a different view of James & Lily Potter than you usually get in fics and in some of the canon. In books 1 & 2 we know next to nothing about them other than the rosy picture Dumbledore & Hagrid paint. So I went with this version of them instead which I think works better than the canon version. I can see Dumbledore altering much about the past when presenting it to Harry who he's grooming to be a martyr. It suits his character. Painting the Potters as heroes in the fight for the light would certainly inspire Harry to follow in their footsteps. After all, he simply wants to be closer to them and know them.

So no scathing 'reviews' about how horrible I am for not sticking with canon. The fic does say AU quite clearly in its list of warnings and stuff. Also I get lots of people saying they hope it's a Harmony or Dramione fic. If you're reading for that, please let me warn you- it is neither. Draco and Harry feature because they're part of the story, not because of future romance.

* * *

 _ **Albus Dumbledore Jailed!**_

 _ **Today Albus Dumbledore had a hearing over some questionable behavior as Headmaster of Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That behavior includes charges of hiring unqualified professors, creating dangerous environments that put students' safety in peril, not investigating threats to his students' safety, and letting a dangerous creature roam Hogwarts attacking muggleborn students with no effort to stop it.**_

 _ **While found guilty of all things, what saw the now former headmaster arrested was perhaps the most serious crime. Casting spells on the muggle guardians and cousin of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, to make them hate and abuse him.**_

 _ **That's right. Albus Dumbledore enchanted and bewitched Harry Potter's muggle family to hate and abuse him. He was unable to offer any defense for his actions, asserting that he had merely sought to 'prepare' Mr. Potter for the future. What future is anyone's guess, as he insisted he had a 'grand plan' that would 'eventually' be revealed and that everything he did was all for the 'greater good'.**_

 _ **The gallery was full of spectators, and when Mr. Dumbledore said this there were slack jaws throughout at the arrogance of the former Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. An ICW spokesperson stripped Dumbledore of the title of Supreme Mugwump shortly before he was chained and dragged from the courtroom.**_

 _ **The good news is that Mr. Potter had worked out that his guardians were acting oddly and had contacted the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They were able to heal Mr. Potter's guardians, however it seems unlikely Dumbledore will be spared a harsh sentence because of that. For eleven years they were ensnared by the wizard and casting on muggles is highly illegal. Just as Lockhart had the book thrown at him for his memory charms, we expect Dumbledore to similarly suffer a severe sentence as the crime warrants.**_

 _ **As for the hearing itself, it raised more questions about Dumbledore's motives than answers as he offered nothing in his defense beyond his superior judgment…**_

They didn't mention the Dursleys by name, much to Harry's relief. Madame Bones had assured him that she'd keep their last name and location out of the press' hands and she seemed to have succeeded with that. Harry shook his head. What greater good could justify casting spells on the Dursleys to treat Harry horribly?

"So we're safe now, correct?" Petunia Dursley asked her nephew.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "They're sentencing him soon. And there's wards around the house should anything happen. The aurors will come protect us." It was very strange, living with the three Dursleys who had undergone massive changes after the spells were removed. Harry found it hard to hold any anger toward them. Vernon was easily the most frightened of magic, but even his uncle didn't treat him as he would have the previous summer.

Petunia was outright kind to him, which only served to make Harry angrier at Dumbledore for taking what could have been a normal childhood from him. Dudley was skittish when it came to magic, but he too wasn't the budding monster he had been. Since being healed, the Dursleys were vastly different and Harry appreciated the more normal life he was experiencing.

Vernon had even taken the boys to an arcade the previous weekend. Harry had enjoyed himself immensely. He even got to play games with Dudley on his cousin's Playstation. And his aunt had taken him shopping to get new glasses, and some contacts, and his own clothes. More than anything his aunt and uncle seemed embarrassed by what the wizard had made them treat him like and seemed to be making it up to him. Dudley was quite similar in that regard, sharing his things with Harry without complaint.

* * *

Harry was trying to get to know this new side of them. He'd quickly realized his aunt didn't hate his mother. She was hurt. In the weeks since she'd been healed, Harry had learned about his aunt and his mother's childhood. They were close before Lily had gone to Hogwarts. In fact, they were close and friends with a boy they'd grown up near named Severus Snape. Snape and Lily had gone off to Hogwarts and Petunia hardly heard from her aside from the occasional letter.

The more that Harry had listened to his aunt, the more that he understood her feeling rejected by her sister. When Lily returned from Hogwarts it was all about her new magical friends; even Severus was ignored by the witch because he wasn't popular with his fellow students. It was disconcerting to learn that his mother was so flighty. For some reason he'd imagined her as being much more like Hermione. But with all that said, Harry finally understood his aunt's attitude toward her sister.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The shocking thing had been learning his mother had known Snape. That Petunia had known him. She said enough that Harry got the sense Snape had grown up in a violent house and from the things Lily's early letters talked about, Snape had been even more of a victim at Hogwarts. Particularly due to James Potter and Sirius Black who Lily had at first called pureblooded bullying snobs.

His grandmother actually saved his mother's letters and Petunia told him they were up in the attic somewhere. When his grandparents had died she had been left everything and put Lily's things up in the attic. So with Dudley's assistance Harry entered the attic one day, "It's dusty in here," Dudley coughed.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, coughing as well. "Hopefully we find it fast. Aunt Petunia says it's labelled 'Lily's things'."

After ten minutes Dudley moved yet another old box of junk to find it, "Here it is!"

Making sure that was the only box (it was) the two boys managed to get it down out of the attic and wipe it down. "Thanks Dud," Harry said.

"No problem," the large boy shrugged. "Enjoy. I'm headed to the park."

Harry took the box into his room and opened it. Warts and all, he wanted to learn about his parents. He needed to know the truth, especially after Dumbledore had lied to him his entire life and even altered his family's personalities to isolate him. Inside were loads of letters. It seemed his grandparents had saved all of their daughter's correspondence with them throughout her Hogwarts years. He organized them by date, then picked up the earliest one. He might as well go in order.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Over the next hour Harry read through his mother's years at Hogwarts. He was very surprised by her vehement disdain for James Potter and Sirius Black. It was almost hatred of the two and it all centered on their treatment of Severus Snape.

In her third year he saw references to 'Nott' arriving at Hogwarts and hanging around Snape and he was sure that was Hermione's father Alexander. Nott, despite being younger, quickly developed a reputation for not backing down when the bullies turned their attention to him and even stood up for Snape. Through his mother's words Harry saw that Hermione got her fire for her sense of justice from her father. Lily expressed pleasure that Nott stood up to James and Sirius, and even got them in trouble on many occasions. It was also obvious that Lucius Malfoy was trying to court Snape to the dark side and was using James Potter and Sirius Black's bullying of the future potions master to do it. It unnerved Harry, to see his supposed 'good guy' father pushing someone into the Death Eaters for no reason other than Snape was poor and a seemingly easy target.

* * *

Lily's anger at James and Sirius suddenly changed sixth year. Which, Harry remembered from Alexander Nott's words, was when Snape had been nearly killed by a werewolf after Black and Potter had set him up. And if he doubted the Slytherin's words, his mother's letters offered confirmation of Nott's version of events.

She heard James and Sirius plotting to 'teach Snape a lesson' after he'd got them in trouble with Slughorn for cheating on a test. They set up a story to lure Snape from the castle to the Shrieking Shack, which was where a werewolf would be, to 'catch' them misbehaving again. Harry knew enough about werewolves that he was horrified by the plot. Fortunately at the last minute another of James and Sirius' friends, Peter Pettigrew, proved to have a conscience and saved Snape from certain death.

* * *

Reading what had happened, Harry was confused. Lily knew what James and Sirius had done; in fact it seemed like all of Slytherin and Gryffindor knew what had happened. Yet the two weren't punished by Dumbledore at all. The headmaster had taken the stance of 'boys will be boys' which made no sense to Harry. This wasn't the petty rivalry between him and Ron and Malfoy. It wasn't name calling and the occasional hex. This was visceral, hateful, dangerous bullying. This was wrong.

But the next year, Lily was suddenly pining for James Potter and when he asked her out yet again (he'd been doing so since fifth year), that time she'd said yes. The letters went from hostile to loving so fast Harry had to check the dates to be sure he hadn't gone years ahead somehow. After learning about her dating James, Snape pulled Lily aside to warn her. It seemed like something Harry could imagine himself saying to Hermione if she was dating a guy that was scum. That James would hurt her in the long run and that he wasn't worthy of her. But Lily had lashed out at him, saying that Snape was just being jealous because she wasn't interested in _him_ and from there the conversation became a heated argument that ended with Snape calling her a mudblood.

Harry found a subsequent letter from Snape to Petunia. In it he warned her about the kind of man James was and that he hoped maybe her family could talk sense into Lily. He offered remorse over his words but it seemed more the actual slur than the anger behind it. Though to be fair, Lily hadn't been particularly kind when lashing out at her childhood friend. Her words made Harry's reaction to learning Hermione was a Nott seem positively delightful. Lily had thrown her knowledge about Severus at him in public where others could overhear. That he and his witch mother were beaten by his muggle father. That had led to him being picked on even more by his classmates.

Harry put the letters aside. While he didn't know Severus Snape very well, he hadn't read anything in Snape's letter to Petunia that indicated he loved Lily. He was just highly protective of her. Harry could certainly relate to that. He had felt highly protective of Hermione when they'd been friends before he'd so solidly screwed that up.

Harry closed the box. Whatever caused his mother's opinion of his father to change, Harry had the feeling he'd likely never know what it was. It had bewildered Snape, based on his letter to Petunia, and if he didn't know Harry didn't see how he could ever find out. He felt better, having some answers to his questions. He also felt like he better understood Snape and his almost immediate dislike of Harry. He looked just like the man who'd tormented Snape for over 7 years, after all. That must have been shocking to the potions master when he'd first seen Harry.

* * *

He put the box under his bed to go through the rest later and walked downstairs. His aunt was baking biscuits. Harry took a warm one off the rack to eat, "Did you find your answers?"

"I think so," Harry answered. "I just…I guess I'm disappointed. But then again, Dumbledore's lied to me about everything else so why not lie about my parents too?"

"Lily had many flaws," Petunia said. "But I know she loved you, Harry. She was very excited to become a mum."

Harry managed a small smile. That was true. She'd given up her life for Harry, after all. So no matter his very complicated feelings toward his parents, there was no denying they'd fought to the death to protect him and save his life. Although, all he knew about that night was what Dumbledore had said happened so who knew if that was even true. Harry poured himself a glass of milk, "I guess it doesn't matter, really. It doesn't change things. I mean, whether my mum changed or not she'll never make things up with you. I'll never know them. I guess with Hermione getting to learn about her biological family I just felt a bit…jealous."

"Understandable," Petunia nodded. "Did you know she was adopted?"

"She told me last year," Harry answered. "But I didn't think for a minute her biological family could be magical. I'm going to apologize to her when I see her again over my bad reaction."

"Good," Petunia said. "Now no more biscuits. You'll spoil your dinner."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Sat in his jail cell in the Ministry of Magic, Albus Dumbledore found himself wondering just how people had learned about his spells on the Dursleys. He'd thought for sure people wouldn't notice his spellwork on the muggles. And Harry saw the headmaster as his mentor so how could his efforts have been discovered? It was vexing.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"We need to appoint a new headmaster now," Minerva McGonagall told the board.

"Yes and we've discussed it at length," Marlene Diggle nodded. "The board has come to an agreement. We have offered the role to Severus Snape."

Minerva was surprised, yet relieved. She didn't want to be headmaster, hence her making an appointment with the board in the first place. She enjoyed being the deputy headmistress and seeing the first years through the sorting but she enjoyed teaching the most and being headmaster would take her away from that. The choice of her Slytherin colleague surprised her though, "May I ask why Severus?"

"Do you think he is a poor choice?" Thomas Corcoran asked her.

"No not at all," Minerva said. "He just has less tenure than so many of my colleagues."

"True however Professor Snape was instrumental in the destruction of the basilisk and in finding the student perpetrating the attacks," Corcoran elaborated. "He was the only professor so motivated to end the attacks. And as a half-blood raised in the muggle world, he will be able to judge the Muggle Studies curriculum. We also believe he is proven to be independent of Dumbledore who we've come to see was holding the school back for decades."

Minerva nodded in understanding. All of that made sense to her. "We will need a potions master then. And a new head of Slytherin."

"We will," Diggle agreed. "Professor Snape is making a list of potions masters he feels would serve in the role the best. As for the head of Slytherin, he is not the only former Slytherin on the staff." That pleased the old witch. She hated the idea of someone new coming in and taking such esteemed positions over. Especially someone who hadn't been a teacher. Severus knew what it took to run Hogwarts, so that boded well for the school.


	11. Off to Diagon Alley!

**A/N: I FLEW through this chapter when it came to writing it, and since then I've begun working on third year and am already up to chapter 14. So here's Chapter 11, in which a trip is taken to Diagon Alley and lots of stuff happens.**

 **Lots of Lily was the victim of a love potion theories! I wrote how her attitude toward James shifted so suddenly completely in line with the books. Kind of alarming, really, how if you take scenario and just lay it out that it seems like she was given a love potion. I think James' ego was too bold to use a love potion on her. And I don't see how Dumbledore got the prophecy that early that he might try to alter events to fit the prophecy. Especially since Snape overheard the prophecy once he was already out of school.**

 **After thinking about it more, I think really what it comes down to is Lily wanted to fit in and despite her harsh words toward James, was in fact attracted to the brash popular good-looking pureblood (she did write about him an awful lot). Lily seems the type to say the right things but not follow through with her actions. And she's certainly vain given she thinks Snape is in love with her when he's simply trying to protect her. As Harry pointed out, he always imagined Lily as being like Hermione (and I think many readers did too). However, that wasn't the case at all. She's shallow and flighty. So she's more the Lavender Brown model than anything else ;-) Lavender went from ignoring Ron to falling all over him so in that way, I think Lily's just not the character most would have hoped for.**

* * *

A busy and travel-filled July wound down with the last two weeks being spent on the beaches of the south of France, which Hermione and Theo greatly enjoyed. True to Troy's prediction, the two teens had impressive tans. Hermione stretched out on her towel, putting her book aside. While it was fun to explore an entire country with her brother, both the magical side and the non-magical side, it was nice to just spend time relaxing too. She looked over at Theo, who was engrossed in Lord of the Rings. His library had grown substantially, at first he had been borrowing from hers but already he had his own slowly growing collection of muggle books. "These are really good books," Theo said, glancing up when he felt her gaze on him.

"I'm glad you like them," she smiled. "I do too."

"I like Gandalf," Theo said.

"He's a very important character," Hermione nodded. "And quite powerful yet so wise. He's how I once imagined Dumbledore might be like."

"That was one big fat disappointment then," Theo chuckled.

"Yes but the great thing to come out of it is that no one died and I finally met my brother," she smiled at him.

"True," Theo mused. "And now he's in jail and out of our hair for good." Hermione nodded. That was certainly true. She was glad they'd not have to deal with Dumbledore anymore. She'd been furious at what the papers said he'd done to Harry and Harry's relatives. There were no words for just how much she loathed the former headmaster.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

It was surprising, how fast August went by. Two weeks before the start of school Alexander took Hermione and Theo to Diagon Alley. As they entered The Leaky Cauldron they saw a very uncomfortable Petunia Dursley with Harry Potter also entering the pub. Alexander understood a muggle not wanting to visit the Alley. Especially one who'd already experienced some of the worst aspects of magic. "You must be Harry's aunt," he smiled at the woman. "I'm Alexander Nott, Hermione's father. If you have other errands to run, I'd be happy to escort him through the alley to get his school things."

"Is that alright with you?" Petunia asked Harry. She certainly knew who the Notts were and Hermione was, given how much Harry had talked about them all. But she also knew that Harry and Hermione had had a falling out so she wasn't sure if Harry wanted to spend several hours with her after that.

"I'm okay with it," Harry nodded. Magical people made his aunt even more uncomfortable after having been the victim of a wizard's manipulations so he was happy to let her leave and go with the Notts. And maybe he could show Hermione that he didn't actually think her family were Death Eaters.

"I think we'll be done around three o'clock this afternoon," Alexander told her before watching a relieved Petunia leave the pub. He shook his head, "Albus I hope you rot in Azkaban," he muttered under his breath before looking at the three teenagers, "Now then, let's go on through to the Alley. We need to stop at Gringotts first. I presume you do as well, Harry?"

"Yes sir," Harry nodded, following the Nott patriarch through to the back pub toward the Alley's entrance.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Alley was quite busy, but not particularly different from the previous year Harry had been there. Alexander seemed a master of weaving his way through the street though and the three teens followed him closely toward the end of the street where Gringotts towered over the other buildings.

In Gringotts Alexander asked for a trip to two vaults; the Nott family vault and Harry's vault. While they waited for a goblin to be available to take them Harry decided to seize the opportunity apologize, "Hermione, I'm really sorry about everything I said to you last term. I was so wrong. I should have trusted you more."

"Yes you should have," Hermione nodded. "But given what Dumbledore did to you, I can't say I'm surprised by your response to everything that happened." Harry winced. He didn't like thinking about what a good little soldier Dumbledore had created. At first it had alarmed him but now he just felt ashamed of himself. Hermione continued, "I forgive you Harry. I'm hoping you'll think more now and not put blind faith toward someone who doesn't deserve it."

Harry nodded he would, relieved she forgave him at all. He looked at Alexander and Theo, "I owe you two apologies too. I let my temper get the better of me and let Dumbledore lead me around by the nose. I'm sorry for calling you Death Eaters."

"Apology accepted Potter," Theo said, "but upset my sister again and I will punish you."

"Understood," Harry nodded. He looked at Alexander, "And thank you, sir, for letting my aunt stay behind. She was dreading this trip to get my things."

"Apology accepted Mr. Potter. And it's my pleasure. The Grangers are not great fans of Diagon Alley either. How are your relatives coping with the change?"

"It's…interesting," Harry said after thinking about the best way to describe it. "Mostly we give one another space and are trying to start fresh. I think it's hard for them, thinking about how someone was able to control them and their feelings and thoughts. But the healers come by regularly to check up on them and a mind-healer has therapy sessions with them to help them come to terms with everything. Madame Bones has been really helpful and supportive too. She kept me aware of Dumbledore's case the whole time."

"She was very kind when I was being interviewed about the basilisk," Hermione nodded. "How have you handled it?"

"I'm still really angry at Dumbledore," Harry frowned. "And I feel betrayed by him. Mostly I've felt really guilty about how I treated you," he admitted. Hermione hugged him, "I'm really, really sorry," he whispered into her hair.

"I told you Harry, you're forgiven. But I don't think I'll be so forgiving if you do such a thing again," she added. Harry felt immensely more comfortable, finally getting those apologies off his chest. He had not been sure Hermione would forgive him. That she had meant that he was going to do his best not to blow this chance at her friendship again.

* * *

When a goblin was finally available he took them down to Harry's vault first. Harry noted that where the Weasleys had been shocked at the amount of coins in his vault, the Notts didn't even blink. "You just have gold in your vault?" Theo asked as Harry filled his bag with coins. "That's weird."

Harry didn't get to ask what Theo meant before they were back in the cart which dipped and swerved before finally stopping in front of a vault. The door looked older than the one in Harry's vault; and it was substantially bigger too. "The Nott family has been in England for a very long time," Alexander explained as the goblin opened it.

Theo's earlier question made sense to Harry as soon as he saw the interior of the Nott vault. It was full of a substantial amount of gold (significantly more than had been in Harry's vault) but also portraits, jewelry, statues, and all kinds of valuables. "There's a necklace that belonged to your mother in here," Alexander said. "You two fill your bags with gold while I find it."

Hermione and Theo stuffed their bags while Harry gazed at the various items. Some portraits were of Nott family members. The resemblance between Alexander Nott and them was quite noticeable. "Our family was from Germany, originally. Or the area that would come to be known as Germany anyway," Alexander said, noticing Harry studying a large family tree stuck to the wall of the vault. "It magically keeps track of the Nott family bloodline. I had to hide it when Hermione was born."

"Is everything in here a Nott heirloom?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Alexander nodded. "It is odd, that your vault just has money in it. But I never paid much attention to the Potter family so perhaps they lost a great deal of their estate over the years. Or gave it up to the Blacks when your grandfather married one. You could ask the goblins to look into it. They keep track of every transaction ever made."

* * *

Harry thought about that on the trip back up to the surface. Did he want it? Pureblood families seemed to hold an awful lot of secrets. Secrets that maybe Harry didn't want to know. What he already knew wasn't exactly impressive to him. His mother was flaky and shallow while his father was a pureblood bully. Still, he was curious. So he asked a goblin at the desk and was informed they'd look into it for him. Surprised at how easy that was, he followed the Notts out of Gringotts and back into the Alley.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Their first stop was Madame Malkin's for new robes. Alexander leaned against the wall as the three teens were being measured when Blaise and his mother entered the shop. "Theo!" Blaise grinned.

"Hey mate," Theo said from his position on the stool, trying not to move too much as they measured him.

"Hello Blaise," Hermione said.

"Hi Hermione," Blaise said.

"Alexander," his mother nodded to the man leaning against the wall.

"Cordelia," Alexander responded, returning the nod. "I hope you've considered the letter I wrote you. I wanted to make sure you had plenty of notice."

Theo, Hermione, and Blaise all looked at Alexander, confused. Cordelia responded, "I have and I think it's a lovely idea. In fact if you don't mind you could take Blaise through to next summer now. I have an appointment to keep."

Alexander gave her a look; Hermione knew her father well enough to know he wasn't amused with the witch in front of him and thought she was a horrible mother. A feeling Hermione quite agreed with. He kept his opinion to himself though as he answered, "I'm always delighted to have Blaise around the manor. I'm sure it would please the elves, too."

"Perfect! Have a good term dear," Cordelia kissed Blaise's cheek and exited the store without another word, leaving her son looking very embarrassed and awkward. Harry felt sympathy for Blaise. Even at their worst under Dumbledore's spells, his relatives had given him more attention and affection than Blaise's mother had just given him.

"Sorry Mr. Nott," Blaise said.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Blaise. We don't choose our parents; I'm nothing like my father and I see that as a very good thing," he put his hand on the teen's shoulder, "some people, I've come to believe, don't deserve the privilege of being parents." That was a sentiment Harry agreed with, thinking about Lucius Malfoy in particular. And clearly Blaise's mum wasn't all that bothered about caring for her son. "Once Theo and Harry are done being measured you and Hermione can get measured."

"Okay," Blaise said, sitting down next to his best friend's sister. "So how was France?"

"Very fascinating," Hermione said. "The magical sides were so different from Diagon Alley. It was incredible."

"Did your mum sign your permission slip to Hogsmeade? Because Professor Snape would probably accept Dad signing it," Theo said.

"She signed it," Blaise nodded, not understanding why Potter was there but not questioning it.

"My aunt signed mine," Harry said. "I'm looking forward to seeing the village. The twins are always going on about Zonko's and Honeyduke's."

"It's going to be fun going down there," Theo smiled.

"That's you done, dear. Miss Granger you're up," Madame Malkin said to Theo, who hopped off the stool for Hermione to get on.

* * *

The four teens talked about Hogsmeade and the upcoming term and who might be the new Head of House of Slytherin and who the new potions master could be as they were measured for their robes. Personally, having read his mother's letters, Harry felt hopeful that Snape actually would be a much better headmaster than Dumbledore. Though to be honest, Harry was hard pressed to imagine how anyone could be _worse_ than Dumbledore.

"They'll be ready this afternoon around three o'clock," Madame Malkin told Alexander. "We'll see you then."

"Thank you," Alexander said. "We'll be by around then. Come on. Let's go get your books next. The bookstore will be swamped."

Flourish & Blott's was packed. The teens entered and Alexander stayed centrally as the four teens branched off to get their books. "What electives are you taking?" Hermione asked Harry as they picked up four copies of the Charms book.

"I asked Angelina and she suggested Arithmancy and Runes. She said they're more useful for various professions than Care of Magical Creatures or Divination. So I signed up for them. Ron signed up for Care and Divination."

"That doesn't surprise me," Hermione mused as she found the Transfiguration book they needed and handed him two before taking two for herself. "I took the same as you."

They returned to the front of the store to see Alexander at the counter with a stack of books, "Theo and Blaise are getting History of Magic and Astronomy books now. You two should get your electives."

"Okay," Hermione said, "come on Harry." She dragged him toward the section her father had pointed them toward, missing her father's amused look at how bossy she could be.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Checking out was a quick process, and only Alexander promising they could stop by the rare book shop further up the street got Hermione out of the store without looking for extra books. They headed to the apothecary next to restock their potions kits before Alexander decided it was time for lunch and they headed to a little café that wasn't far from Gringotts.

Harry enjoyed the meal, reflecting on just how easy it was to interact with Hermione's brother and with Blaise. He actually found Blaise rather amusing and was delighted with the way the day was going. "Quidditch store next?" Theo asked hopefully.

"Fine," Alexander sighed. "You can't spend too long, though. We have to get Harry back to his aunt by three and we have more things to get. And your sister wants to get a pet to take to Hogwarts."

"What are you going to get?" Harry asked as they walked to the quidditch store.

"I'm not sure yet. I would like an owl, as they're so useful, but I do like cats too," Hermione answered. "I think I'll know if I find something I fall in love with instantly." Harry could definitely relate to that. He was very fond of Hedwig.

"What's your quidditch team, Harry?" Blaise asked.

"I don't have one," Harry answered.

"What?!" Theo and Blaise's eyes widened in shock. "Well we can't have that!"

Hermione rolled her eyes as they began to tell him all about which team he should support. "Who do you support?" Harry asked the two Slytherins.

"Montrose Magpies," Theo answered.

"Ballycastle Bats," Blaise answered. "I think he seems like a Tornadoes fan," Blaise said to Theo.

"Yeah I could see that," Theo nodded.

"Are you trying out for the team too Blaise?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah I think I will," Blaise nodded. "Two of our Slytherin chasers graduated last year so hopefully Theo and I both make the team."

The boys were then distracted by the Firebolt broom in the store window and Hermione rolled her eyes. It was just a broom. Honestly. They were so ridiculous. "It is a very impressive broom," Alexander mused. "We'll leave soon," he promised her.

"I'm just glad all three are getting along," Hermione shrugged. And that was the truth. While she knew Theo would behave himself and give Harry a chance for her benefit, she wasn't so sure about Blaise but the dark-skinned boy had also been perfectly polite, even friendly to Harry. It was nice to see them all getting along.

* * *

A bemused Alexander stood near his daughter and watched as the boys looked at the quidditch gear and brooms, staying silent until asked questions by Harry about glove quality for seeker's gloves. To Harry's surprise, Alexander had been Slytherin's seeker when he was in school and knew plenty about the position and what would be best for Harry. While they were a bit pricier than the rest of the available gloves, ultimately Harry went with the dragonhide. According to the Nott patriarch, it would last practically a lifetime. Harry would probably new ones as he outgrew them, but he also liked the grip better on the dragonhide gloves. Both the grip on the toy snitch and the grip on a broom handle which the shop owner let him try out. It felt more secure, making him certain Alexander was right about them being worth paying more.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

With Harry's new gloves and toy snitch purchased they headed across the street to the pet store. They had only just entered the building when an orange ball of fur that Harry thought might be a small tiger jumped off the counter and onto the floor, stalking toward them. "Is that a cat?" Blaise asked.

Alexander raised his eyebrows at the cat's squashed face when it looked up at them. His mother had raised kneazels. He easily recognized the cat as at least part kneazel. "What's up with his face?" Theo asked. "It looks like someone sat on it."

"I think he looks cute," Hermione said. Alexander's suspicions were confirmed when, after Hermione spoke, the cat wound its way through her legs, purring. Hermione bent down and picked him up and he nuzzled her cheek with his muzzle.

"Crookshanks! I've told you to leave customers alone," the shopkeeper appeared from the back. "Oh," the woman blinked, "I've never seen him take to anyone like that."

"So your name is Crookshanks, is it?" Hermione asked the cat.

He let out a yowl in answer before snuggling into her again. "He's been here forever. No one wanted him. They want black cats or those fluffy white kittens," she indicated the box of white kittens that was sitting out. "Crookshanks just gets ignored."

"Until now, it seems," Alexander smirked. "Did the cat make your choice for you, Hermione?"

Hermione gazed at Crookshanks' adorable squished face and looked up at her father, "I think so."

"Let's get the accessories required then," Alexander said, "and we'll need a carrier for him."

"Of course," the shopkeeper nodded before moving to the back to find one.

"Let's go find you some toys, Crookshanks," Hermione said to the cat before walking toward the pet toy section.

"That cat is going to be so spoiled," Theo said once she was out of hearing range.

"Definitely," Harry nodded. "And I don't get how she thinks he's cute. He really does look like someone sat on him."

"Girls are weird," Blaise shrugged.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Their last stop was to get parchment, quills, and ink before Alexander let them loose in a candy shop to stock up until their first Hogsmeade trip while he and Crookshanks waited outside. Then they returned to Madame Malkin's to pick up their robes. "Now we should go meet Harry's aunt," Alexander said. "Back to the Leaky Cauldron, you four."

When they exited to muggle London Petunia was hovering near the location. She approached them, "Have everything Harry?"

"Yep," Harry nodded. "All set for school."

"Good," Petunia looked at Alexander. "Thank you for taking him."

"My pleasure, I assure you," Alexander said politely.

"Bye Harry," Hermione said.

"Thanks for taking me with you," he said to Alexander.

"You're welcome. See you at King's Cross on September first," Alexander said.

"Bye," Harry waved before taking his bags and following his aunt to her car.


	12. Aww Man!

**A/N- Here we finally return to Hogwarts. One professor is an OC, the others are property of JKR. This is the train ride & the welcome feast. Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry wrote Hermione a few times over the remainder of summer break. He felt good their friendship had recovered from his own mistakes. When the Dursleys took him to King's Cross he saw the Grangers there with Alexander. He had to admire that Hermione didn't just dump her muggle family for her magical one. And it was pretty neat that Theo was being included by the Grangers too, just because he was her biological brother.

He introduced the Dursleys to Alexander and the Grangers and they exchanged hellos before saying goodbye to the magical teens. Alexander would be entering the platform with them to see them safely onto the train. "Do you have your permission slip?" Petunia checked.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "I tucked it into one of my books for safe-keeping," he explained.

"Have a good term," she said, giving him a quick hug. Harry returned it and with one last goodbye Alexander escorted the four teens into the train station.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Platform 9 ¾ was packed. "Behave yourselves and study hard," Alexander told his children. "And take care of each other. Theo, listen to your sister. Hermione, keep him in line."

"Hey!" Theo complained, "I'm a good student."

"Yes but Blaise is a bad influence," Alexander winked at his son, making Blaise protest while Hermione and Theo laughed. "Have a good term. I'll see you at Christmas."

Hermione, Theo, and Blaise went onto the train to find a compartment while Harry went looking for Ron. Hermione let Crookshanks out of his carrier once they found a place to sit, "Here you go. When we get to the castle, though, you'll have to get back in the carrier."

Crookshanks stretched and settled onto her lap. "That cat is so spoiled," Theo shook his head.

"He is not," Hermione responded. "He's a very good cat."

"He left a dead mouse in my shoe," Theo reminded her.

"He was showing you his prowess at hunting prey," Hermione scratched his ears, "Weren't you Crookshanks? You're a good little hunter." Crookshanks meowed and rubbed his face against her hand before closing his eyes and taking a nap.

"He's not exactly little, Hermione," Blaise pointed out.

"He's sweet," Hermione said, picking up a book. "And yes he's big but he's just a big cat." Her father had explained that Crookshanks was likely part-kneazel, which had Hermione reading up on them. From what she read, Crooks did seem to be part-kneazel but that didn't bother her. She saw it as a boon. He was smarter than your average cat and she thought his squashed face was adorable.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

To Harry's displeasure, Ron and the Weasleys weren't yet on the train. He did see Draco Malfoy, who was oddly enough smiling. It kind of creeped Harry out, honestly. He was quite used to seeing a scowl or smirk on Malfoy's face. An actual smile was unnerving.

Harry found a compartment to share with Ron and decided to wait for him. Ron's letters that summer had been more abbreviated than usual, so Harry wasn't entirely sure how Ron was really coping with the events of that summer. Where Hermione's letters were long and full of detail, Ron's were a few sentences at best and mostly about the Chudley Cannons' games. Harry read very little about how Ron was doing or what he was up to aside from an occasional complaint about degnoming the yard or having to do some other chore Molly had assigned him.

* * *

When the Weasleys finally arrived, just ten minutes before the train departed for Hogwarts, Harry stuck his head out the train's window, "Ron! Over here mate!"

Ron entered the compartment, "Hey mate," he said with a smile. "Shame you couldn't come see us this summer. Must have been horrible with the muggles."

"The Dursleys were great," Harry frowned. "And it was important for me to be there as they came out from Dumbledore's spell."

"Just sounds like a massive conspiracy against Dumbledore if you ask me," Ron muttered.

"Dumbledore bloody admitted to his crimes!" Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. How was Ron so blind regarding Dumbledore? But for Dumbledore, Ginny probably would have been discovered sooner and maybe wouldn't have faced the long prison sentence she currently had.

"But he's the greatest wizard since Merlin, Harry," Ron rolled his eyes. "Anything he did he had reason to do."

Harry had heard enough. He grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage, "You're wrong, Ron. Dumbledore is a criminal and only _thinks_ he knows best. That 'wisdom' saw your sister nearly kill several people last year. See you at school." Harry left the compartment before he really snapped at Ron. He wasn't tolerating any conspiracy theories about Dumbledore's innocence. That man had targeted him. And without Dumbledore around, Harry's life had dramatically improved.

* * *

When Harry made his way to the compartment Hermione and Theo were sharing he found Seamus and Dean already there. Neville was too. "If it's too crowded I can go," Harry said awkwardly.

"Just get in here Potter," Theo rolled his eyes, "Your reunion with Weasley not go as planned?"  
"Ron thinks there's a conspiracy against Dumbledore and that Dumbledore had a good reason for everything he did," Harry grimaced.

"Ron is crazy," Seamus said.

"Completely barmy," Dean agreed.

"He's just upset his family has received so much negative attention and press," Hermione dismissed. "It's easier for him to act like nothing happened and everyone was framed rather than to face the truth," she shrugged. "It's basic psychology, really," she added at the looks of surprise she received from the boys.

"Sometimes I wonder if there's anything you _don't_ know," Theo mused.

"Plenty," she answered. "But I'm a good learner and I retain knowledge well."

"Incredibly well," he praised her. Hermione smiled.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

It was an uneventful train ride up to Scotland, which for Harry was unusual but nevertheless enjoyable. When they arrived at the Hogsmeade station they piled into carriages, Harry riding up with his other three roommates. From an outward glance, Hogwarts seemed the same as ever. Hagrid had even said hello to Harry as he'd entered the carriage.

But despite outward appearances, talk had been sweeping the train about who could end up being the new potions master and defense teacher. No one knew who it could be and all were hopeful they'd be capable, which was more than could be said about Dumbledore's typical hires. There weren't many students who were sad Dumbledore was gone. The ex-headmaster hadn't been well liked as they'd learned firsthand the previous year how he failed to protect them and especially muggleborns; so for them it was a relief he was gone and that someone else was in his place.

Entering Hogwarts Harry felt that familiar warmth the castle seemed to create in him whenever he arrived at the start of the year. He entered the Great Hall to see Severus Snape in the headmaster's seat at the head table. He looked up and down it, seeing the same faces as last year, mostly. McGonagall was obviously missing since she would bring in the first years. And there were a few new faces.

* * *

Theo said goodbye to Hermione and went with Blaise to the Slytherin table to take stock of their new professors. "Isn't that your aunt?" Blaise asked Draco. Up at the head table, sitting near Professor Sinistra, was Andromeda Tonks.

"Yes but I don't understand why she's…" Draco's mouth went dry as Narcissa Malfoy entered the Great Hall through the staff entrance, "Mother?!"

"Draco why are your mum and aunt at the staff table?" A confused Goyle asked his friend.

"I have no idea," Draco answered. "She didn't mention working here. I know she was looking for a job and was offered something but she wanted to keep it secret so she didn't 'jinx it'…" Draco rubbed his face in his hands, "Oh Merlin this could be so embarrassing."

* * *

"Based on Malfoy's reaction I think it's safe to say that is most definitely his mother and aunt," Seamus chuckled.

"He looks very pale," Hermione mused with a concerned look on her face.

"Isn't he normally that color?" Dean snorted.

"Can't blame him," Neville said. "I wouldn't want my grandmother teaching at Hogwarts."

"Our mum would torture us for fun," Fred groaned at the thought. "Poor Malfoy."

Now certain of the two witches' identities, Harry turned his attention to the other two new faces at the staff table. Harry didn't have a clue who they were. One of the four had to be the new Potions Master/Mistress. Another was likely the DADA professor. Why were there four? "Did we need four more professors?" Harry asked.

"Muggle studies," Dean answered. "The board of governors replaced the last one as he knew nothing real. Mr. Nott knows quite a bit about the muggle world and just a few easy questions proved the professor was in way over his head," he elaborated.

"And Professor Kettleburn retired from teaching Care of Magical Creatures," Neville added.

"I wonder what Malfoy's mum is teaching," Seamus mused. "Potions or DADA are the two likely choices."

"I guess we'll find out after the sorting," Harry said, smiling at Hagrid as the half-giant entered and sat down at the far end. Harry had to admit, Snape looked happier than he'd ever seen the potions master look as he settled into his seat at the center of the head table. He didn't have a frown on his face for once.

"I wonder who the new head of Slytherin will be," Hermione wondered aloud.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The Great Hall quieted down as the first years entered with Professor McGonagall. Harry enjoyed the Sorting as a spectator for the first time in his Hogwarts career. After it was over and Professor McGonagall had returned from putting away the hat and stool Professor Snape stood, "Welcome, students, to Hogwarts. A great deal has changed since last year. I can promise that I will not be the invisible headmaster my predecessor was. I would like to introduce our new additions to the Hogwarts staff. First is Professor Joseph Fox, who will be taking over Potions." The black wizard sitting next to Professor Flitwick stood to some polite applause. "Next is Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking over Care of Magical Creatures." The witch stood and Harry noticed she looked about Professor Sprout's age. Certainly not as young as Professor Fox. Although if Harry thought back to Potions class with Snape he recalled Snape mentioning that fewer people sought potions masteries these days. "Taking over Muggle Studies will be Andromeda Tonks," Snape continued, "and taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts will be Narcissa Malfoy."

There was plenty of applause for the last two new hires, both being former Slytherins. Although while his house was enthused, Draco Malfoy looked a little nauseous at the thought of his mother teaching classes. Harry felt a bit of sympathy for Malfoy. While Harry might get along very well with his aunt now, he certainly wouldn't want her to be his teacher. That would just be awkward. Not just with their relationship but with his fellow students.

Snape looked around the hall, "There will also be some policy changes. Inter-house unity is an important aspect of Hogwarts that far too often has been ignored. So this year we want to work on it properly. Excluding specific occasions such as the welcoming feast and the end of year feast, students may sit at whichever house table they wish. If you want to eat meals with your sibling or friends who are in another house, we welcome that. We are also interested in any ideas any of you might have to make Hogwarts feel more inclusive to muggleborns and promote inter-house unity. If you have any specific ideas, please contact Professor Tonks or myself. If you would like to do it anonymously, there will be a suggestion box outside the headmaster's office near the gargoyles which you can submit your idea to. It'll be looked through weekly by myself and Professor Tonks and we will do our best, as will the board of governors, to make them happen if we believe they're doable."

Hermione and Dean lit up at that. Even Harry had some ideas he thought would improve Hogwarts for muggleborn students. "Hermione do you have any parchment?" Dean asked her.

"No but I have a little notebook and a pen," Hermione said, pulling a palm-sized notebook out of her robe along with a pen to hand to Dean.

"I want to write down some suggestions while they're fresh," he explained before opening it and beginning to write his ideas down.

"It'll be great, getting to eat meals with Theo whenever we want," Hermione smiled.

The rest of Snape's speech was pretty standard. Stay out of the Forbidden Forest, no magic in the corridors between classes, and other things that they had heard Dumbledore caution students against before. "And now before we eat there is one last thing to be announced. The heads of houses are typically the professors who cover the core subjects all students take at least the first five years. With that in mind, the Board of Governors saw fit to leave the final decision to the professors who have history with Slytherin house. Which isn't all that many, of course," he looked at his former house.

It might not have been known to the school, but Severus had always enjoyed being head of house for Slytherin. But it was more than being a Slytherin. Alexander Nott had correctly pointed out that the few families who did have very dark leanings still would need to be pacified by the choice for head of house, even if in reality the professor in question didn't have those dark leanings any more than Snape did. "I am pleased to announce the new head of Slytherin is Narcissa Malfoy," he declared. There was loud applause at Slytherin's table, though Severus could see that his godson looked very green at the thought of his mother also being his head of house. While he felt sympathy for Draco, he had to do what was best for those children of Death Eaters and there was no way any of them would start something over Narcissa Malfoy being the new head of house. Snape clapped his hands and food appeared on the house tables for students to begin eating.

Hermione was thrilled with Professor Snape's speech. She would get to have meals with Theo and she had plenty of ideas for improving Hogwarts. As they ate dinner she and Dean thought up ideas, Harry throwing a couple in here and there. She and Dean had no issue with talking to Professor Snape about their ideas but they wanted to have a list of the things they thought would improve the school when they did.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After they ate dinner prefects walked down the house tables, telling the older students the password before Snape sent them all to bed. Theo and Blaise walked down to the dungeons, the whole house in full approval of their new head and already looking forward to the new school year. Snape wouldn't hire a bad potions professor and with him in charge Hogwarts would improve, they were certain.

Theo wondered how his house would handle muggle things being brought in. Narcissa had a fair amount of knowledge about the muggle world, from what Draco had said about his summer. Draco had taken to it mostly, in Theo's opinion, as an act of rebellion against his father. He doubted very many in Slytherin would take it as well as Draco had. Time would tell. He was sure his sister and Dean already had a long list for the new headmaster to consider.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next morning there was a notice outside the Great Hall in the form of the Fat Friar and Nearly Headless Nick. They informed students as they approached that they would be required to eat breakfast at their house tables so the professors could hand out schedules quicker but that for lunch and dinner they could eat where they wished. Hermione thought it was a good idea to have the ghosts inform them of such changes as a written notice could be easily missed.

As they entered the Great Hall she smiled at Theo who gave her a smile back. So far third year seemed to be off to a good start. She looked forward to her classes.


	13. Classes Start!

**A/N- Time for classes to begin! I'm actually just about to begin chapter 17, so I'm a little further ahead than I thought I'd be. In this chap I mention Dumbledore's prison sentence, Harry & Snape have a moment, Narcissa starts her teaching career, we get some of Draco's thoughts on his mother teaching, and a potions class that shakes up the seating chart. **

* * *

"I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous, Severus," Narcissa said to the man who had hired her.

"You will be fine," he assured her. "You stood opposite Voldemort and lived with Lucius. You are perfectly prepared for a classroom of teenagers." She gave him a small smile and Severus gave her an encouraging smile, "Cissa, if I didn't think you could do it I wouldn't have suggested you."

"I am very grateful for the job," she said. "Being in that manor alone would drive me around the bend. I want Draco and I to have a new life. A fresh start."

"And that's what you have now," she had played the role of the good pureblood wife for so long he'd worried that fire the Black women all had would be diminished. It hadn't. As soon as Lucius had died he'd seen that fire return. He was glad. He'd hate for Lucius to have stamped that out of her.

"Only thanks to you."

"I've not done that much," he said, a pink tinge to his cheeks. Severus had never been one to handle being praised. He was much more used to criticism and hostility; those he understood. Praise, though, was not something he was given often in his life. Even now it felt quite foreign to him.

"We both know that isn't true," she smiled. "Have a good morning, headmaster. I have a class to get to."

"Enjoy your first day," he said, watching her leave.

* * *

"Professor Snape?" He turned to see Harry Potter approaching him. "Sir I owe you an apology. I haven't really acted appropriately with you or given you any respect since coming to Hogwarts."

Snape gazed at him before speaking, "Yes, well, I didn't really give you a chance either. I judged you on your parents and how much you look like your father in particular. Which was petty and unprofessional of me, in hindsight."

"I know Dumbledore lied about my parents. That they weren't the heroes he made them out to be. I found my mum's letters home and…well I was appalled by my father's actions toward you and others."

"Thank you," Snape said. "However no one should hold you liable for their bad actions. How is your aunt doing?"

"She's pretty incredible," Harry answered honestly. "I'm really angry at Dumbledore for taking such a kind woman from me for most of my life. I was quite relieved to learn that he was sentenced to Azkaban for forty years."

"It was very satisfying to see," Snape smirked. "Albus seemed to think he'd get away with it, arrogant old bastard that he was. Perhaps we should start anew, Mr. Potter?"

"I'd appreciate that," Harry nodded.

"You should head off to class now or you'll be late," Snape warned him. "Have a good start of term Mr. Potter."

"Same to you sir," Harry said before heading down the corridor toward the stairs.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Double Transfiguration in the morning was exhausting for the Gryffindors and they were relieved to be done with it when they made their way to lunch. Theo arrived at the Gryffindor table with a smile, "How was your morning class?" He asked his sister.

"I enjoyed it," she said. "But I think my housemates wish we didn't have it first thing in the morning. How was Double Charms?"

"Great," Theo beamed. "We got to do Cheering Charms. They really perk you up. Even Crabbe and Goyle were all smiles."

"It must take a while to come down from them," Seamus said, considering Theo's overly bright attitude.

"A bit, yeah," Theo nodded, still grinning. "Arithmancy this afternoon. That will be fun."

"Theo even I think you're far too chipper," Hermione smirked. "Tone it down a bit, brother dear."

"Don't think I can," he said, his brow furrowing in thought while his smile remained. The others laughed even as they looked forward to Charms the next day. Cheering Charms sounded good to them.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

For their electives the first class seemed a bit like an orientation but Harry was interested in Arithmancy. Runes he was less sure about but happy to give it a try. He really didn't have any plans for life after Hogwarts, so he wanted a wide range of options available to him.

Their core classes, though, were starting strong. No easing into the curriculum this year. In some classes, there was a bit of revising. In Double Charms, half the time of the first class had been devoted to review and making sure people were caught up before moving into Cheering Charms. Transfiguration had been similar. Potions was also similar, despite having a new professor. In fact, that class was more similar to the previous year's than anyone had imagined.

* * *

Joseph Fox was already waiting for them when the Gryffindors and Slytherins entered the classroom, Hermione sitting with Theo and Harry sitting with Neville. According to the twins, Ron was still really upset and not coping well with Ginny being in prison. Harry could understand that, but he also wasn't about to hear anyone say that Dumbledore was innocent or a good man. "Hmm," Fox said, gazing up and down the tables. "I don't like this setup. The headmaster has been clear, we will be encouraging inter-house relations. Perhaps this way Mr. Filch can relax a bit," he looked at his roll-call sheet, "Professor Snape left me your grades from last year, which is good as I can use that to set up partnerships. Mr. Potter, please take a seat next to Mr. Malfoy."

Harry got up and Blaise shuffled out of his seat for Harry to sit down next to Malfoy. Draco gave his new partner a nod before they looked to their professor to see the next pairing. "Miss Patil, you'll be with Miss Parkinson. Miss Brown, with Miss Bulstrode." Parvati and Millicent switched seats and Fox continued, "Mr. Zabini, you'll work with Mr. Finnigan. Mr. Thomas will work with Miss Greengrass."

Theo did his best not to snort with laughter that muggleborn Dean would be working with pureblood princess Daphne Greengrass but it was a near thing. "I'll leave Mr. Nott and Miss Granger, I like that pairing. You're at a similar skill level," Fox mused. "Mr. Longbottom, you'll be working with Mr. Goyle. Mr. Crabbe, you're with Mr. Weasley."

"Poor Vincent," Draco muttered. Harry did feel bad for anyone paired with Ron. He wasn't an ideal potions partner on his best days but since he'd arrived at Hogwarts angry and bitter he was bound to be even worse.

"Each of you is paired with someone whose work level is similar to yours," Fox said. "I too once had Professor Snape as my instructor. He made me fall in love with Potions. It's a precise art and one that many wizards and witches struggle with. To get a taste for working together, and so that I can see your skills, today you'll be brewing a simple potion that you made last year. Swelling Solution. You may begin now."

"I'll get the ingredients if you get the cauldron on the fire, Potter," Draco said.

"Call me Harry," Harry said. "We're partners, after all. And that's fine with me." Draco gave a nod and got up to get the ingredients that Fox had written on the board.

"Crushing in a clockwise motion makes things pulverize more evenly," Draco told Harry. "Work the pestle around the bowl like that," he nodded when Harry gave Malfoy's advice a go. Hermione and Theo exchanged a smirk as they overheard Draco giving Harry potions tips. It surprised her that Harry was actually listening to Draco. Perhaps this was that new side of Harry he'd been working on the previous summer.

* * *

As the class progressed she noticed that while most of the pairs seemed to be getting on, one in particular wasn't. Ron was arguing with Crabbe over every aspect of the potion, seemingly only to be obstinate. Hermione wouldn't be surprised if Crabbe said it was nice outside only for Ron to insist it was raining despite all evidence to the contrary. At the end of class after they'd all bottled their potions and cleaned up their stations the professor dismissed them, "Mr. Weasley, stay behind. We need to have a chat."

"You weren't half-bad for a partner, Harry," Draco said as they filed out of the dungeon.

"You weren't either Draco," Harry nodded.

"I like Professor Fox," Hermione said once they were headed up the stairs out of the dungeon, "He seems to be similar to Professor Snape but slightly less intense."

"Yeah he seems alright so far," Blaise nodded. While he'd thought Snape was an outstanding professor, Fox seemed to be a good replacement. "I'm looking forward to Defense." Draco groaned and Blaise grinned, "Mostly because it really freaks Draco out."

"Jerk," Draco muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"Blaise I'm not above smacking you," Hermione reminded her brother's friend.

"I'll be good," Blaise promised. He'd already had Hermione smack him on the back of the head for being an obnoxious idiot before. He did not want to have that happen again. She was stronger than she looked.

"And _you_ can quit moping," she informed Draco. "Your mother is a professor and that's a good thing, not something to be whiny and pathetic about."

"Is she always like this?" Draco quietly asked Harry.

"Yes," Harry nodded.

"Bloody hell," Draco looked at Theo, "the suitors will back off if she unleashes on them like she does us."

"Isn't it great?" Theo grinned. "She'll scare them all off and I won't have to threaten anybody. Ow!" He scowled at his sister and rubbed the back of his head.

" _You_ can quit acting like I'm some sort of frightening creature who terrifies all of mankind," she informed him, making Seamus and Dean laugh hysterically while Theo looked properly shamed.

* * *

When they finally exited the dungeons they all headed to the Great Hall for lunch. Draco sat down at the Slytherin table with Crabbe and Goyle while Theo and Blaise sat with Hermione and the others at the Gryffindor table, "See this is nice," Theo sighed, content. "Lunch with my sister."

"Suck up," Blaise teased.

"He really is," Hermione agreed. "But he's my brother so I allow it."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the class Draco Malfoy was most dreading. He didn't want his mother to do poorly but on the other hand, he didn't really feel all that thrilled that she was his professor and also his head of house. It felt very weird, having his mother at Hogwarts. Especially as a teacher and consequently having to call her Professor Malfoy. That was especially weird to him.

But as they entered the class he had to admit, his mother looked pretty content to be there. And she probably could teach the class better than any idiot who hadn't been brought up in the Dark Arts. She certainly couldn't be worse than Lockhart.

Narcissa Malfoy looked over the students. She'd never met the newly revealed Nott heiress. She gazed as Hermione Granger entered the classroom. It surprised her, how much the girl looked like Aurelia Nott. If what her son said about the girl was true, it seemed while she looked like her mother the girl had her father's fire. An interesting combination.

"Welcome," Narcissa said once her students were seated. "In your two years here at Hogwarts you've had two different teachers, one of whom was a complete charlatan. So we have some catch-up to do. However your interim professor at the end of last year assigned work which tells me you all have a handle on basic hexes and shield charms, as well as disarming spells. I intend to work with you all on speed in casting; in a duel or battle you do not have time to pause and think of your next move before striking. Launching a series of curses or hexes will put your opponent on the back foot and if you want to be an auror, that is crucial."

She walked around her desk, "Curse breakers of Gringotts need a wide range of knowledge of curses as well, both those cast on living and on inanimate objects. And of course there are living creatures that could harm you whether they share a habitat with rare potions ingredients or they're darker, far more dangerous characters who you could even encounter in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. Vampires who desire blood or werewolves who no matter how genial they are in human form, become violent creatures when they turn. It is important to know how to defend yourself and to protect yourself from harm."

"To start with," she gazed out at the room, "I want to see how quickly you all can cast a shield charm. Don't worry about strength at first. Strength of the shield comes from practice of the spell. So the faster you can cast it, the stronger your shield charm will become."

Hermione liked how Professor Malfoy explained what they'd be doing. She had included practical explanations for three different careers so far and Hermione found that new and different from most of her other professors. She also liked the explanation about how to make your shield charm stronger.

* * *

They spent the class period practicing the speed of their shield charms, which was actually rather more difficult than it sounded. Narcissa assisted those who needed help with their technique as necessary and by the end of class, they were all capable of casting the shield charm easily. Some students were faster than others; Harry noticed that Draco and Theo were easily the two fastest draws, each earning 10 points for Slytherin because of it.

Although Hermione, Blaise, and Pansy weren't far behind them, and those three were just barely ahead of the rest of the class. "For homework I want five inches next week on using shield charms versus using counter spells and which is more effective overall."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"That was a pretty good defense class," Theo said as they left.

"You just like being the best," Hermione teased him.

"It is nice to be better than you at something for a change," he admitted. "It's hard, living up to your genius sister."

"I'm not a genius," she blushed.

"Best in our year," Theo reminded her.

"Just because I'm smart doesn't make me a genius," she reasoned.

"I think you like arguing with me," Theo teased. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him in response, not wanting to rise to his bait.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

At the end of their first week at school, Hermione and Dean got an appointment with the new headmaster to tell him their ideas. "Weren't there supposed to be portraits of the previous headmasters of Hogwarts on the walls?" Hermione asked as they looked around. _Hogwarts: A History_ had mentioned it but the walls were devoid of headmaster portraits, though Snape had many paintings of nature on the walls. She also noticed the walls were a deep green, not the red that Harry had mentioned Dumbledore's office featuring. And unlike the clutter Harry had said was in Dumbledore's office, Snape's desk was sparse and the whole office was quite orderly. It seemed the new headmaster wasted no time making his new office a home.

"There were," Snape nodded. "They disagreed with some decisions made about Hogwarts," he smirked, "They're currently sitting in Hogwarts' vault at Gringotts where they will remain until they quit being bigoted bastards or a new headmaster desires their presence." He sat down behind his desk, "Please, take a seat. I'm very interested to hear your ideas."

"We've been compiling them," Dean said, still a little confused by Snape's more casual demeanor.

Hermione took the lead after they'd sat down in the rather comfortable chairs, "First, we think adding muggle football to the list of extra-curricular activities would be very beneficial. All that running around is good exercise and the equipment required is rather minimal so it wouldn't impact the school's budget greatly. And we have it on good authority that the muggleborns and muggle-raised of Hogwarts would be very interested in playing, especially since only so many people can play quidditch or be on their house team."

Snape had a feeling that football would come up as one of the first suggestions. He'd heard students in the corridors talking about muggle football teams for years and he did find it a little stupid that Hogwarts only had one sport that 11 students in each house could play. He'd grant that there were some years at Hogwarts that had less than 20 students (fifth through seventh years specifically, which were the height of the wizarding war) but with the war long over the year sizes would only expand. There were 40 third years, and 49 second years. This year they had 53 first years. Minerva said in the next two years they'd likely break 60 first years for the first time in almost a century.

Of course, there were some walls to implementing more sports at Hogwarts. Cricket and baseball, for example, would not be well met by the board of governors when looking at cost and special equipment (not to mention the very complicated rules they'd have no patience for). Basketball wasn't doable either. Rugby would result in far too many injuries to make the board happy. But football would probably be accepted to at the very least be trialed at Hogwarts. "Football seems doable," Snape nodded. "Do you have other sports in mind?"

"Yes," Dean nodded. "We thought about it and ping pong would work really well indoors. In the winter people would love it. Billiards too. Maybe some empty, unused classrooms in the castle could become recreation rooms."

Snape had played both games in his youth so he saw the wisdom of Dean's suggestion. And it would give the students something to do, thus keeping them out of trouble. Having a room near each common room with the muggle things would be feasible, he thought.

"We also thought about more outdoor things like volleyball," Hermione added. "It too requires minimal equipment. Just a ball and a net."

"I will certainly take those recommendations to the board," Snape nodded. "What beyond sports have you thought up?"

"Using notebooks and pens instead of parchment and quills would be much cheaper for students," Hermione suggested. "And cleaner, too," she added.

"It would make note taking much easier," Dean said. "Everything is in your notebook rather than having to rummage through piles of scrolls."

"That is an interesting point," Severus mused. "They might let students try it out for note taking, but require parchment for assignments at first. Presuming we can explain what a notebook and pen is to some of the board members." Hermione smirked. Her father had talked at length about the board of governors and she quite understood just how old and pureblooded they were; they had little to no knowledge of the muggle world. "Well that is a particularly big challenge. And it's one I will have to work on. However I think the football idea is something that will be implemented. Thank you for your suggestions."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The two friends left the headmaster's office, pleased at his reception to their ideas. They'd had other non-sport ideas, but both agreed to start with suggesting things they thought Snape and Professor Tonks could talk the board into doing. They didn't want to go too big too soon. "I wonder how long it will take to talk the board of governors around," Dean pondered.

"My father says they meet once every few months or so but more often if required," Hermione answered, "so I guess it's hard to know the answer to that. It could be next week or it could be after Christmas."

"Well, at least we got to get our ideas out," Dean said. "Did you bring those board games?"

"I did," she nodded. "Although I'm hoping we get those ping pong tables. I'd love to embarrass Theo at a sport."

Dean laughed. The Nott siblings were so competitive with each other. They had an obvious affection for one another but it seemed like spending the whole summer together had them on such comfortable ground they could let their competitive natures out properly. They were both highly competitive and it surprised Dean just how similar they were despite being unknown to one another until late last term. "Who are you going to cheer for when Gryffindor plays Slytherin?"

"I always want Theo to do well," Hermione answered. "If he's playing, I want him to win."

"And if he's not?"

"Then I'm not honestly all that bothered," Hermione shrugged. "I'm really not interested in quidditch."


	14. Quidditch & Ping Pong!

**A/N- A belated Happy Mother's Day to any moms reading this :-) A life at Hogwarts & buildup to Hogsmeade chapter here. I never cease to find it amusing how often I get chastised for playing with or using characters _some_ people view as vile, evil, bullies, etc. It's really rather silly. Just because _you_ dislike a character doesn't mean they must only be portrayed one specific way all the time. I dislike Ron Weasley. I've written/am writing stories in which Ron is a good guy and an important character. At the end of the day all humans have dark sides and light sides. That's what makes us human. And don't forget we're shaped by our life experiences, just like characters in stories are. **

* * *

Hermione had never seen herself watching quidditch tryouts of any sort, but Theo asked her to watch him try out for the Slytherin house team and she couldn't refuse her brother. So there she sat in the stands, watching her brother try out to play as a chaser on an otherwise lovely September day. "Did not figure you'd be here," Pansy Parkinson said as she sat down near Hermione.

"Theo's my brother and he wants me here," Hermione shrugged, "so I'm here."

"Alone? Don't you have a posse of Gryffindors that follows you around?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She didn't have much interaction with the pureblood females of Hogwarts. Her two roommates were half-bloods and not all that bothered about Hermione's revealing as a pureblood. So she wasn't entirely sure how to interact with Pansy. The lessons of pureblood culture had mostly been about dealing with potential suitors, not with other witches. Not that Hermione cared about saying or doing the 'right' thing with Pansy. It was more not knowing how to read the situation or Pansy.

That said, Hermione wasn't about to be quiet or back down from the other witch, "The boys are working on homework. Plus I hardly thought Slytherin would appreciate a large Gryffindor audience."

Pansy said nothing in response as Theo's trial had just begun. While watching her classmate fly she noticed that whenever a bludger approached Theo, or an opposing player got too close, Hermione's knuckles turned white as she squeezed the edge of the bleacher. When he did a sloth roll to avoid a bludger Pansy half-expected Hermione to either pass out or scream at him when he popped upright again to score a goal.

"He's a good flyer, you know."

"I know," Hermione nodded. "He taught me how to fly on a broom this summer. But quidditch players get injured an awful lot and I worry he'll get hurt."

"Nothing Madam Pomfrey can't fix," Pansy shrugged. "And none of the Slytherin players will hurt him. Especially not during his tryout for the team. If he's injured he can't help us beat Gryffindor again."

"That is true," Hermione admitted. "Why sit here with me?"

"You've shaken up society, Granger," Pansy said, her eyes on the players. "You get revealed as the secret Nott heiress and next thing you know, Lucius Malfoy dies for nearly killing you. Dumbledore is finally fired. The youngest Weasley is in jail. Narcissa Malfoy tears up the betrothal contract Lucius had arranged with the Greengrass clan to marry Draco off to their youngest daughter. You've really done a number on society. You must be just like your father given how he's trashing traditions lately."

From Pansy's tone it wasn't clear if her words were words of bitterness or admiration. It seemed that much like Theo and Blaise, hiding her real emotions was a skill of Pansy's. Hermione watched as Theo flew with the other chasers, passing the quaffle back and forth as they streaked up the pitch. "Why are you here at the tryouts?" Hermione asked her after Theo's turn had ended.

"Just curious to see what the team will look like," Pansy shrugged. Well, Theo _had_ said Pansy was the worst gossip in Slytherin and especially loved knowing everything first. Hermione supposed that made sense.

* * *

At the end of the tryouts Hermione climbed down from the stands and hugged her brother, "You were great Theo."

"Flint thought so too," Theo smiled. "I made the team."

Hermione grinned and hugged him tighter, "That's great! Congratulations!"

"You'll come to all my matches right?" He asked.

"Of course," she assured him. "Did Blaise make the team?"

"As a reserve chaser," Theo nodded. "But that's to be expected. It's just exciting that we both made the team, really." Hermione smiled. Her brother was downplaying it but she could see how excited he was. Theo had desperately wanted to be on the quidditch team and it showed in his eyes how buoyant he was about being picked for it.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Alexander Nott sat in the Board of Governors meeting, his face not showcasing his amusement at his daughter's requests to add muggle things to Hogwarts. Andromeda Tonks and Severus Snape were doing an excellent job presenting a case for each item, including that loads of students had suggested giving them a football pitch and some indoor sports too. Andromeda had clearly sourced prices of the necessary equipment, which Alexander admired. Snape meanwhile pointed to the vast array of empty rooms in Hogwarts that could be used that would otherwise go unused for yet another year.

But he stayed silent, listening to the questions the other school governors were asking. He wanted to gauge their opinions if he could. Most seemed unsure and so Alexander made his voice known, "This would be on a trial basis, of course," he said to Snape and Tonks.

"Of course," Andromeda nodded. "If the students like these things, we could consider making them permanent."

"Well in that case, I'm in favor of it," Alexander said, well aware of the amusement in Andromeda's eyes. He was certain she knew his daughter was behind many of these suggestions. "Perhaps these ping pong tables can keep the students out of Filch's hair on rainy days."

"That would be a pleasant change," Snape agreed. Alexander held much sway over the board because he had two children in school; most of them didn't even have grandchildren in school anymore so as a parent if Alexander approved the others were more likely to trust him.

"I don't mind the sports but I see no reason to not use a quill and parchment," one of the oldest governors said. Alexander mentally rolled his eyes but said nothing. He'd take what he could get for now.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

At the end of September as quidditch try-outs for the house teams finally ended the announcements were made about muggle football and ping pong tables coming to Hogwarts. Hagrid would be drawing out the lines of the football pitch on an empty plot of land not far from the quidditch pitch so that the players would have access to the locker rooms. Joseph Fox, muggleborn and a fan of the sport, would be the referee of games. Anyone could play, which perked the first years up regardless of blood status. Dean and many other students cheered at the news.

In early October Hagrid brought the four ping pong tables into Hogwarts and Professors Tonks and Fox assembled them in the new 'recreation rooms' for the four houses. For Gryffindor, the table was a big hit and they quickly had to implement rules to make sure everyone could play. Hermione set up a long parchment scroll so that the 'reigning' champ could be listed, crossed off, and a new name written in their place. If the champ lasted three games undefeated, they had to give up the crown (so to speak) and step aside for two 'unseeded' players to play. Then at the end of the month they'd have a mini-tournament for the undefeated players and a bag of candy would be the prize for winning.

* * *

Hermione enjoyed ping pong, and so it wasn't a total surprise that she ended up in the Slytherin recreation room at her brother's request to teach them how the game should be played. Dean went as her assistant but soon she found herself playing doubles with Pansy Parkinson to take out Draco Malfoy and Dean. "This is surprisingly fun," Pansy said with grin as Draco's paddle missed the ball. "We play to 11 right?"

"Yes, so this is match point," Hermione nodded.

"Come on Malfoy, you don't want to lose to the girls," Dean encouraged. "Hermione gloats when she wins."

"So does Pansy," Draco frowned. "They're going to be unbearable."

But despite that motivation, Pansy's strong volley whiffed past the two boys and the witches won, both smiling at the result. "I'm never going to hear the end of this," Draco predicted.

"You can always have a rematch," Dean reminded him. "Everyone will get really good with some practice. Many muggleborns had a big advantage in Gryffindor at first but the Weasley twins really picked it up fast."

"I'll get revenge," Draco vowed, giving Pansy a glare.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The morning of their first trip to Hogsmeade Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table, thinking about how things had gone so far this term. Ron was keeping to himself which meant he was also keeping his mouth shut, which made for a pleasant change thus far. Draco Malfoy seemed to have dramatically changed, though Hermione was dubious about just how 'dramatic' the change was. After all, her father had been able to act like he hated muggles for over 13 years despite having hidden his daughter with a muggle family and keeping tabs on her that entire time. Theo had learned early on to feign hatred of muggles to appease his grandfather despite not hating them at all. So as far as she was concerned, Draco could simply have been an amazing actor for his father's benefit and never have actually hated muggles. Only Draco could answer that question and it wasn't one she was particularly interested in knowing the answer to anyway.

Most of Slytherin seemed a bit lighter, actually, which surprised her. It made her wonder just how much control Lucius Malfoy had had over the other families because it seemed like the biggest changes were in those who'd been closest to the Malfoy family. Narcissa Malfoy actually smiled, which according to Theo and Blaise wasn't something she'd _ever_ been seen doing before. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle actually laughed. Not that weird chuckle thing they would do the previous years but actual laughs.

And the muggle things added? Well the footy was being embraced with open arms by the first years especially, as they couldn't try out for quidditch yet, but every house had a team. Gryffindor's captain was Dean, of course. If Theo was quidditch mad then Dean was definitely football mad. The ping pong tables were incredibly popular. Every house seemed to use theirs regularly.

* * *

Harry sat down opposite her and disrupted her thoughts, "How do you get up so bloody early on a weekend?"

"Habit," Hermione answered automatically as she drank her tea. "Today is a big day, though. Our first trip to Hogsmeade."

"Yeah I'm excited too," Harry nodded, glancing up as he heard the owl post arrive. A Gringotts owl soared down to the table and presented its leg to him. Harry untied it, "I guess this is about what happened to the Potter things," Harry said to Hermione before unrolling the parchment:

 _ **Mr. Potter,**_

 _ **We have looked through all records pertaining to the Potters and can confirm that several former Potter properties were given to the Black family as a bride price by your grandfather Charlus Potter when he became engaged to your grandmother Dorea Black. As for the Potter heirlooms, we have determined they were destroyed when your family home was destroyed 31 October, 1981.**_

 _ **Only gold remained in your vault, which has been untouched until you presented yourself to Gringotts with Hagrid in 1991. We hope this answers your questions and we now consider this inquiry concluded.**_

 _ **If you would like your family tree drawn out, Gringotts is happy to do so for a fee. Simply write to the bank's genealogy department.**_

 _ **Thank you for your continued patronage,**_

 _ **Grukluff**_

 _ **Department of Account Records**_

"I think that answers that question then," Harry shrugged, handing the letter to Hermione. "Your father was right. My family gave up their properties to the Blacks."

"I knew the Potters weren't a wealthy family," Hermione mused. "He went over the wealthiest families with me this summer and your family's name wasn't mentioned. But I do know the Blacks were quite hungry for gold. They had a habit of having more daughters than sons so struggled to keep the family name going."

"Dumbledore always acted like my family was this special name in the wizarding world but I don't think they were. At least, not in mine or my parents' lifetime. My father was special because he was pureblood, case closed," Harry shrugged. "I guess I still have that land that their home was built on, though."

"I think they turned it into a war monument," Blaise said as he sat down next to Harry and Theo sat next to his sister. "You probably don't have that either."

"Better to know this now than later, I guess," Harry mused. "A war monument? Really?"

"People are suspicious of places alot of dark magic has been in," Theo explained. "So a war monument is a way to sort of cleanse the area and keep people away from horrible places. Morning Hermione."

"Good morning Theo," she smiled. "Excited for today?"

"Very," he nodded.

Harry looked at Theo, confused, "Is all that really true?"

"Well, all magic leaves a residue when a major event takes place," Theo answered. "The pyramids of Egypt prove that. And curses can certainly last centuries. Plus does anyone really want to take the chance when it comes to possibly babies or children being raised in that spot? Better safe than sorry, people figure. I'm sure the ministry paid for the land, though. That's probably why you have so much gold in your vault."

Blaise smirked, "Mate you sounded like your sister just now."

"I could be compared to worse," Theo shrugged, not really bothered by the comparison. He loved his sister and as far as he was concerned, she was pretty much perfect. Being compared to her was a compliment as far as he was concerned.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After breakfast they gathered their coats and money and headed to the carriages that would take them down to the village. Professors Malfoy and Tonks were there with clipboards, checking off names to make sure those headed down all had turned in permission slips. "You all have fun and make sure you're back at the station when it's time to head back up."

"We will Professor Malfoy," Blaise smiled at the witch, making Draco glare at him.

"Let's go before Draco kills you or Hermione hexes you for being an idiot," Theo yanked Blaise toward the carriage, much to the amusement of the two witches marking off names.

"I'm not sure which spell I'll use yet. I'm debating between three that cause severe pain but leave you otherwise unharmed," Hermione mused loudly, making Blaise's eyes widen in fear.

Harry snickered at Blaise's reaction. Hermione could be scary, and apparently Blaise had only just learned that fact. Poor bloke.


	15. Best Defense Class Ever!

**A/N- This chap continues the Hogsmeade trip. Lots of Harry stuff but mostly Hogsmeade stuff and then a Defense class and some of Draco's thoughts on his mother being a professor. Enjoy!**

* * *

Amelia Bones and a team of Unspeakables exited the Gaunt shack. To their knowledge, they'd just destroyed the last of the horcruxes. The diary, a diadem, a gold cup, a silver locket, and now a ring. "We would like to study the Potter boy. He was there the night Riddle blew up," the lead Unspeakable said to the head of the DMLE. "We need to make sure nothing attached itself to him."

"I don't like where this is going," Amelia frowned. "What if something registers?"

"We have some ideas about that," he promised her. "He won't have to die."

"He better not," Amelia informed him. "That boy has suffered enough for several lifetimes."

"He will survive," the Unspeakable repeated.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

While many of their classmates were getting candy that was available in Diagon Alley, Theo's basket was filled with Honeydukes' exclusives. Why get candy you could get anywhere when there were so many exclusives to try? He didn't understand that at all. Hermione walked over to him, "They're giving out free samples of chocoballs," Hermione said, handing him one of the samples she'd taken.

"Thanks," Theo said, popping the whole treat into his mouth.

"This store is pretty impressive," Hermione looked toward the counter. She'd got some fudge for the two of them, plus Harry and Blaise, over there. "What did you get?" She peered into his basket, which was quite full.

"Honeydukes' exclusives," Theo answered. "I got plenty for us both."

"I can see that," she chuckled. Theo was big on sweets, much to her parents' horror. "Where did Harry and Blaise go?" She asked, looking around.

"I lost them in the crowd," Theo answered. "It's really crowded in here."

It was. Hermione looked around but was too short to see very much. "Well let's look for them for a little bit and if we don't see them we'll go outside and wait."

"Good idea," he nodded at her words.

* * *

They found Harry and Blaise scooping some jellybeans from the large barrel into a couple of bags. "There you two are," Blaise said. "We've got all our loot now."

"So do we," Theo nodded. "Let's check out and then we can go to Zonko's."

"Yeah I'm looking forward to Zonko's," Harry smiled. The Weasley twins loved Zonko's and he wanted to see the joke shop for himself.

* * *

They finally paid and exited the sweet shop to make their way to the joke shop, crossing the busy street. That shop looked quite crowded too. "I think it's too crowded," Blaise lamented.

Harry looked at the watch his aunt had bought him for his birthday, "It's around lunchtime. How about we eat first, then come back?"

"That's a good idea Harry," Hermione nodded in approval.

"Yeah let's do that," Theo agreed. "I'm hungry."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Hey there's Hermione and Theo," Dean pointed as they entered the Three Broomsticks. "Over here, you guys!" He called out, waving his hand in the air to get their attention.

The quartet made their way over to Dean, Seamus, and Neville's table. "Where did you three go first?" Hermione asked.

"Zonko's," Seamus answered. "It was really cool."

"Yeah they have tons of neat things," Neville agreed. "Where did you go?"

"Honeydukes," Theo answered. "It's incredible! They have so many candies that are all their own."

"The Chocoballs are very good," Hermione said. "We got free samples."

"Oooh free samples," Dean rubbed his hands together, "That sounds really good."

"What's in them?" Seamus asked.

"Clotted cream and strawberry mousse," Theo answered. "I liked it."

"Harry and Blaise have enough Every Flavor Jelly Beans to last them a long while," Hermione said.

"Dean got a set of gobstones for himself," Seamus said. "They have lots of stuff at Zonkos. Not just jokes."

"Sounds interesting," Hermione said. "Theo, be a good brother and go order my lunch," she smiled at her brother.

"Yeah Theo go order lunch for us all," Blaise snickered.

"You're coming with, you git," Theo said, yanking Blaise up by the collar.

"Fine," Blaise pouted as he stood.

* * *

"Blaise never ceases to amuse," Dean chuckled.

"Hermione scared him this morning," Harry told the other three Gryffindors. "That was hilarious."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not terrifying," she protested.

"Not to us," Seamus assured her. "But Blaise doesn't know you the way we do."

"Yeah plus Blaise has to worry about upsetting your brother," Dean pointed out. "We all know Theo's not a threat." She laughed in spite of herself at that.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Severus Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt a headache coming on. It was bad enough that Potter was abused by Dumbledore as he was. To add in that the boy might be a horcrux made him wish he could personally hex both Dumbledore and Voldemort to within an inch of their lives. Arrogant bastards the both of them. "Are you going to tell him?" The headmaster asked Amelia Bones, who had flooed into his office for the meeting.

"We think it's best that he doesn't know. Mostly because on the off chance that he is a horcrux, the shade of Voldemort will then know what we know. We're going to say we're just making sure there's no residual magic from the night Voldemort attacked his parents."

"And if there is? Can you remove it without killing the boy?"

"The Unspeakables have assured me that they can," Amelia answered. "I understand your reservations, Severus. I even share them. But we can't let him run around with a piece of Voldemort in his head."

"Well today he's in Hogsmeade," Snape sighed, leaning back in his chair, "what if you can't remove it, Amelia? What are you going to do then?"

"We have discussed that option," she admitted. "And to be perfectly honest, we're not sure. No one wants to kill Harry just to be rid of Riddle. I won't let them even try. You have my word on that Severus."

Snape felt a headache coming on. If Potter was a horcrux and their method failed, what would they do then? He was sure Amelia Bones meant well, but the ministry for all their posturing _did_ want to be rid of Voldemort once and for all and Unspeakables were not known for their bedside manner. Voldemort had some Unspeakables in his service during the first war. Watching them commit atrocities that would have made Josef Mengele proud had turned the potions master's stomach and quickly made him realize the error he'd made in joining the Death Eaters.

Fortunately both of those men had died, one in battle and the other in Azkaban a few years ago, but Severus was still highly suspicious of Unspeakables and those who chose to become them. He made his decision, "I want all your information on horcruxes. What they are, how they work, everything. If you can't get it out of Potter's head, I will find a way to contain it and prevent it from influencing him."

Amelia didn't question the headmaster, simply nodded. She was well aware that she was asking for an inordinate amount of trust from Snape and to begrudge him the same was unfair, in her opinion. She had faith in the Unspeakables but she understood his lack of faith in the Ministry. It actually made her rather pleased to have him challenge her and question her. It proved that Snape was right for the job, in her opinion. "How about next weekend we examine Mr. Potter?"

"Fine. That gives me time to read up on these things," Snape nodded. He intended to make the most of that time. Harry needed an advocate and Snape intended to be just that, even if it meant drawing his wand on the Unspeakables and Madame Bones to protect him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione wasn't that enthused to go to Zonko's, but the promise of a stop by the bookstore had her letting the boys take their time in the joke shop. She wasn't particularly interested in Zonko's, but Theo wanted to come so she was willing to hold her tongue. She glanced over the shelves but mostly watched the crowd. It was nice, seeing Harry get along with Theo and Blaise. She had been of the opinion that if he gave Theo a chance, Harry would quite like him. Harry certainly seemed to get on with him now. He even got on with Blaise, which was harder than you might imagine.

Of course, having met Blaise's mother she understood why Blaise was so obnoxious at times. He'd been starved of attention for most of his life. Although that said, she could also see how much Theo's friendship meant to Blaise. He was very attached to Theo and Hermione could see the bond. "We're ready to go now," Theo said as he approached her. "To the bookstore?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I've heard good things about that bookstore from Percy."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Draco Malfoy entered the defense classroom ready for yet another class with his mother. He didn't really have any time to prepare for his mother being at Hogwarts. He liked seeing her come to life though, being free and independent for the first time. He also could proudly say that his mother was the best defense professor he'd ever had. The other students, even in the other houses, all thought so too. She was good at teaching how to defend yourself, but also how the dark spells worked. Of course she knew how they worked. She'd either been taught to cast them or seen them cast throughout her life.

His mother seemed demure and quiet and almost delicate in her day to day life; but that was an illusion. When she and his aunt had done a demonstration of countering dark spells in a mock duel he'd seen the fierce and terrifying witch she could be. That they both could be. Maybe that was part of the Black women that appealed to so many dark wizards. That they could go from demure to dangerous in an instant.

"Draco," she smiled at him as he took his seat, "having a good term so far?" She would love to have some one on one time with her son, but as of yet they'd not been able to.

"Yes," he nodded. "You enjoying it?"

"Very much," her smile grew and Draco smiled. He loved seeing his mother so happy. He'd at first been teased by the other students about his mother being a professor. That had stopped after a week as they all experienced her class. Apparently it was hard to make fun of him when his mother was so good at her job.

* * *

Once the rest of the class had arrived she spoke, "Now I know this is a little unconventional, but today we're going on a little field trip. Everyone gather your things and follow me please."

"A field trip?" Theo looked at Blaise, confused. Blaise shrugged.

They walked out of the defense classroom and Narcissa led them down toward the dungeons, "This worked out brilliantly, actually. We've been talking about and practicing spells and you're all catching up quite quickly with that so when Professor Snape mentioned a boggart had infiltrated the castle I instantly knew what we could move onto."

"A boggart?" Harry and Dean looked at one another, baffled.

"What's a boggart?"

"Good question Mr. Longbottom. Does anyone have an answer?" Narcissa turned and looked at the group behind her. Hermione raised her hand, "Miss Granger, please enlighten us all if you don't mind."

"A boggart is an amortal shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear," Hermione answered.

"Correct," Narcissa nodded. "Five points to Gryffindor. Now, who can tell me what an amortal being is?"

"Poltergeists," Blaise answered.

"Correct," Narcissa gave him a small smile, "five points to Slytherin. Anyone else?"

"Dementors," Draco answered with a shiver.

"Also correct," Narcissa nodded, "another five points to Slytherin. An amortal being is something that is neither living nor dead."

"Like a vampire?" Lavender Brown asked.

"A vampire once upon a time was a living being, so no," Narcissa answered gently. "An amortal being has never truly 'lived' nor can they be killed. They weren't born in the traditional manner. For example, a vampire is bitten and turned. A ghost is a human who dies but whose spirit stays on this plane of existence. An amortal being, like Peeves, has never been anything else but that which they started out as and are neither born nor dead. No one becomes a dementor or a poltergeist and as I said before, they can't be destroyed. They simply exist. And it is our mission, therefore, to learn how to protect ourselves from them."

Seamus raised his hand, "Does a banshee count?"

"Yes, they do count as amortal beings," Narcissa nodded. Seamus shuddered. He was terrified of banshees. "Amortals tend to feed on human emotions. Poltergeists feed on chaos, which is why they tend to infect places with loads of teenagers present like Hogwarts. That also explains why Peeves is so solid, which is uncommon for poltergeists. Dementors feed on happiness, and it will quite literally feel like they've sucked all the happiness from any room they enter."

Several students trembled at the thought. "Boggarts feed on fear. They assume the form of whatever you most fear in the world," Narcissa led them into a room with a cabinet that began shaking violently when they all entered. "Now, boggarts mostly work in a one on one manner. All of you are quite capable with shield charms and disarming charms; they don't work on boggarts or other creatures, though, so we need to widen your arsenal. You can't banish a boggart very easily, however you can confuse it with a large group of people such as we have here. And the boggart stumbles when you laugh at it. So we'll be learning a spell to force the boggart to look humorous. Laughter will weaken it."

* * *

If it fed on fear, it made sense that laughter would stymie it, in Hermione's opinion. Narcissa taught them the spell 'Riddikulus' and conjured a wisp-like creature for them to all practice altering with the spell. Once she was satisfied they were prepared Narcissa asked for volunteers, "Who would like to try and defend themselves against a boggart?"

Theo and Seamus raised their hands. After some further one on one instruction, Narcissa cast a spell to open the cabinet and Seamus stepped forward. A screaming banshee appeared and Hermione covered her ears, wincing at the wailing. It might not be deadly because it wasn't a real banshee, but it still wasn't pleasant. Seamus cast the spell, " _Riddikulus!_ " The boggart-banshee suddenly coughed, clutching its throat. Seamus had taken its voice.

Buoyed by Seamus' success, after Theo's werewolf chased its tail other students stepped forward. When class ended they walked away, all having thoroughly enjoyed that lesson. "That was awesome," Seamus said.

"Professor Malfoy's classes are so informative," Hermione mused. "I like her style."

"Yeah it's nice to hear why we need to know stuff," Harry agreed. It made defense more practical, in his opinion.

Nearly Headless Nick floated near them, "Ah, Mr. Potter. The headmaster needs to speak with you in his office at your earliest convenience. The password is aconite."

"Okay," Harry nodded. "I guess you'll have to tell Professor Sprout where I've gone," Harry said to his housemates.

"We will," Dean promised before Harry took a different stairway to head up to the headmaster's office.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Sir?" Harry asked, poking his head into the office.

"Come in, Mr. Potter," Snape said. "I've been contacted by the DMLE. The Dursleys are fine," he added as a look of panic crossed Harry's face. "This was about you. After what happened with the Dursleys and with Ginny Weasley, they would like to examine you to make sure you have no lingering effects from the night Voldemort killed your parents."

"Lingering effects?" Harry scratched the back of his head, confused, "like what?"

"That's what they want to determine," Snape said. "They want to come this weekend and give you an examination to see what, if any, dark magic you were exposed to as a toddler and whether any of it still exists."

Harry didn't think that sounded like a bad thing, "I'm okay with that."

"Very well, I will give Madame Bones approval to bring a team to look you over," Snape nodded. "I wanted to ask you privately. I know how rumors spread in this school."

"Yes sir," Harry nodded. He knew too. The portraits all loved to gossip and from there it filtered through the halls among the students. Harry appreciated Snape asking him privately. He could imagine people completely misconstruing things. He was glad to avoid being the target of rumor and gossip.

"While I have you here, how are you enjoying the more muggle aspects we've brought to the castle?" Snape had an ulterior motive in asking Harry. If the Boy-Who-Lived approved, that would hold massive sway over the board.

The smirk on Snape's face had Harry instantly realizing that the headmaster wanted to pull one over on the board. It wasn't exactly a secret that Snape and Professor Tonks were far more willing to add muggle things to the school than Hogwarts' board of governors was. Harry also understood that he was famous, and an even more sympathetic figure given what Dumbledore had done to him over the past 12 years. That gave Harry quite a bit of power.

After hanging around Slytherins for a bit, Harry recognized that they were adept at working out how best to manipulate a situation to their advantage. If he could help make Hogwarts better, at least his fame would finally be put to good use. "I love the muggle additions. It makes Hogwarts feel less foreign to me and it's nice to get to play the muggle games I grew up with."

"Are there any things _you_ would like added," Snape asked.

"Hermione mentioned her notebook idea and I would love that. It'd be so much easier to carry notebooks to classes and much cleaner too, using pens and pencils. Muggles have created so many things to make their lives easier; wizards could benefit from using many of those things."

"Yes I quite agree with that sentiment. I think the board would do well to hear your opinions, actually. Would you mind if I told them your thoughts on the matter?"

"Not at all," Harry answered. "I'm happy to help Hogwarts become a better school."

"Thank you," Snape said. "You can leave now, Mr. Potter. You still have time to get to Herbology."

"Yes sir," Harry nodded, getting up and walking to the door before he stopped, "Oh and sir? Professor Malfoy is a really great professor. I don't know who hired her but she's brilliant at it. This is the best defense class I've ever had at Hogwarts."

"Thank you Mr. Potter," Snape said. "Although given the idiots you've had as professors I'm not quite sure how much of a compliment that is," he gave Harry a wink, making the teenager laugh as he exited the office.


	16. Bigotry & Idiocy!

**A/N- There's so much going on at Hogwarts. But there's one thing I have to say. I've always assumed Occlumency was unpleasant to learn. That in the books Harry expected it to be so much easier and pain-free always highlighted to me that he wasn't a particularly intelligent hero nor a very logical one. If Voldemort cast legilimency on Harry, it would really, REALLY fucking hurt. So I always saw Snape's painful lessons as a necessary evil and consequently Harry as weak for not just being unable to endure it but actively refusing to do so. I know Snape is supposed to be this ogre that hates Harry and is doing it intentionally but really, if Harry thought Snape was being particularly vindictive toward him then he could have just written Dumbledore. Dumbledore, after all, is a saint in Harry's eyes and while he was avoiding Harry that year an owl could have been an intermediary between the two. Or a house elf named Dobby.**

 **But that's enough from me. Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's been almost two months now, Cissa. How are you enjoying being a professor?" Severus Snape asked from the couch in Narcissa Malfoy's quarters. He'd already had the nearly two month meetings with Fox, Grubbly-Plank, and Andromeda. But he'd not been worried about them like he had Narcissa.

"It's very rewarding, I find," Narcissa smiled as she handed him a glass of Firewhiskey. "I've never quite felt so fulfilled before."

"I'm glad. A student informed me you were the best defense professor they've ever had," he smirked, "which on the face of it doesn't mean much, given the last two we've had. But you've certainly ignited a spark in your students that I find impressive."

"Thank you Severus," she gazed at him, "I don't think I've ever seen you look younger than now that Dumbledore's gone."

"His arrest was a weight off my shoulders," Snape admitted. "I've never really felt free with Dumbledore around. It always felt like he owned me and controlled me. Not anymore. I feel very free for the first time in my life."

"It's a good look on you," Narcissa said. It was. His frown lines were smoothing out and she'd never seen him happier than she'd seen him the past couple months.

"I think my personality works well when it comes to defending the school from idiots," Snape mused with a smirk.

Narcissa laughed before growing serious, "Do you think my being a professor is okay with Draco?"

"Knowing Draco, his issues were not with you but with how his classmates might treat him because of you becoming their head of house as well as their professor," Severus answered. "He certainly doesn't seem bothered about it now."

"The Nott heiress does seem to have a handle on Mr. Zabini when he tries to tease Draco," Narcissa mused.

"That witch is already a force unto herself," Snape chuckled. "She reminds me very much of Alexander, the way she defends those that can't or won't defend themselves."

Remembering how Alexander had protected Severus from James Potter and Sirius Black, Narcissa understood what he meant. She and Alexander had been in the same Hogwarts year. Narcissa had been very impressed by him when they were in school. But of course she was already betrothed. She did remember being very jealous of Aurelia when she met the witch who would become Alexander's wife. It was apparent that Alexander loved her and Narcissa felt no love for, nor did she receive any from, Lucius.

* * *

"Narcissa have you seen-oh, hello Severus," they looked to the fireplace to see Alexander Nott's head sticking out, "I flooed your quarters and office and you weren't there so I thought I'd try here next."

"Do you need something Alexander?" Severus asked.

"Yes. May I come through?"

"By all means," Narcissa nodded.

Alexander's head vanished from the flames and Narcissa unlocked the floo so that he could come through. A few minutes later Alexander was exiting the fireplace. Narcissa cast a charm to clean his suit of soot, "Thank you," he said to her before turning his attention to Severus, "Some of the old idiots on the board want to look at your new hires. Specifically Fox but they're covering their arses by saying they want it for all of them," the Nott patriarch rolled his eyes. "Bloody arrogant bigots they are. They want a board member to bear witness to classes they teach."

Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Lovely. And do they know who it would be?"

"That's the good news," Alexander smirked. "I volunteered as the board member with the most vested interest. So I need to schedule when best to visit and witness the professors teaching."

"Do you have a preferred year's class to watch?"

"You get me for a whole week, Severus. I get to see all of the years," Alexander answered with a frown, "Over the top, in my opinion, but it will shut the bigots up at least."

"I will arrange a schedule for you and talk to the professors about it. Will it just be the four new hires or will you be looking at all the professors?"

"Just the four new hires," Alexander answered. "I shudder to imagine evaluating all the professors."

That did seem an exhausting prospect to Snape. He nodded his head in understanding. "Very well. As my meeting with Narcissa is done I shall depart to get things set up. Did anything more of consequence happen?"

"They won't budge on the blasted tournament but I got them to keep the entry age at 17 and to agree to some very, very powerful wards that prevent anyone underage entering or being entered in the tournament. So that's one more crisis averted. I really loathe my fellow boardmembers," Alexander scowled.

Snape sighed, relieved that at the very least safety would be paramount. "Who will do the warding?"

"That is what they're arguing about currently."

Snape shook his head, "Good night then. I have quite a bit to do apparently."

* * *

Once Snape left Narcissa poured Alexander a tumbler of Firewhiskey, "Sounds like you need this."

"Thank you," he said to her, "I really dislike being on the board yet I must remain to protect my children and Hogwarts. It's really rather frustrating."

"Yes but you've done very well at it. The ping pong tables are big hits with the students," Narcissa indicated he sit down as she poured herself a glass of wine. "Even Slytherin."

"Yes how is our house getting along? Theo doesn't really write in much detail about the goings on of Slytherin outside of making the quidditch team and Draco being less of a git this year," Alexander sat down, shifting so he could look at her.

Narcissa smirked at Theo's description of her son before answering as she sat down, "Surprisingly well. They've taken to the muggle things much better and faster than I would have imagined. But then, my son surprised me this summer doing the same. I think it's an act of rebellion at first until they realize they actually like them. And then it's less scary to enjoy a muggle thing because they're familiar with it by the time they realize they like it."

Alexander chuckled at that, "I can certainly relate to that. I quite enjoyed rebelling against my father every chance I had."

"I remember," Narcissa smiled. "You do realize your daughter is a female version of you right?"

"I've heard that," he admitted. "Is she giving you a hard time?"

"She's a very good student. Very quick but also very talented. But teaching her and watching her I'm reminded of you when we were in school. Protecting others, speaking her mind, not letting anyone deter her."

"I'm surprised you noticed me in school," he said. "Bellatrix made no secret what a disappointment to my father I really was."

"Bella was the only one of us who really went into the dark. I was dragged along into it," Narcissa frowned, "I got off better than she did in the marriage department. Lucius wasn't as bad as Rodolphus, at least."

"Pretty close though," Alexander pointed out. "I'm not sorry I killed him but I do apologize for your grief."

"Don't apologize," Narcissa shook her head, "I honestly felt numb, at the time. Though looking back I think I was more afraid he would win the duel than anything else. Once he died I felt a weight off my chest. His arrogance and your thirst for vengeance freed me from a rather miserable life."

"In that case I'm delighted to help," he lifted his glass in a silent toast before bringing it to his lips. After a drink he looked at her, "This is the top shelf variety."

"I've sold off many of Lucius' things but the liquor I thought Severus would enjoy so I brought a few bottles to Hogwarts. I thought it'd be a nice Christmas present for a new headmaster."

"Oh that would annoy Lucius," Alexander chuckled before taking a sip. He might as well enjoy the drink, "Are you doing alright, then? As a single mum and in your new job?"

"On both fronts I think I'm doing quite well. Being a professor isn't something I ever imagined doing but I like teaching. Your Theo does very well in Defense."

"I started working with him on that stuff before Hogwarts," Alexander admitted. "I wanted him able to defend himself."

"Lucius was the same, though he wanted his son to be a bully. Fortunately it seems Draco's stopped that behavior."

"We all did many things just to appease our parents," Alexander mused. "Giving up my daughter and hiding her existence was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I know I was a teenager, barely eighteen, but I should have stood up to my father and Aurelia's parents."

"She's turned out very well," Narcissa pointed out. "I have my own regrets, but I love my son. Things had to happen a certain way so that I could have him and that's all there is to it."

"And now you have a new chapter of your life before you," Alexander smiled. "So are you going to become a black widow a la Cordelia Zabini?"

Narcissa laughed, "Oh Merlin no! I might not have all of Lucius' estate, he left most of it in a trust for Draco, but I still have a good chunk of money and my job has me being paid a decent enough wage. Nor do I feel like arranging for so many men to 'accidentally' die."

"Does seem awfully tedious," he conceded with an amused smile. "By the way, she's engaged again."

"Really? Who's the poor bastard?"

"An idiot on the board of governors," Alexander answered. "I'd warn the bloke but then again, I have no proof she's a murderess and calling her such could be defamation."  
"Ah the ministry's laws protecting purebloods," Narcissa mused. "The gift that keeps on giving."

"Have you had many offers yet? I got loads after Aurelia died."

"I've had more than a few," she admitted. "Some were only a week after the duel."

"I had some women proposition me at Aurelia's funeral," he confessed. Narcissa stared at him, horrified at the thought. "I know. I was disgusted by it. Made me want to be a bachelor the rest of my life."

"You don't get lonely?" Narcissa asked. "It's only been a few months, and Lucius and I were hardly close, but I've felt very lonely."

"I had Theo to focus on, at first," he answered. "And I had my company to run. But I do get lonely," he admitted. "Especially since he started at Hogwarts."

"Lucius and I were only intimate enough to get pregnant. After that it was like we were strangers," Narcissa confessed. "And of course even if I wanted to date, I can hardly do much of that when I'm here at Hogwarts."

"I struggle with that too," he admitted. "I don't typically put myself first."

"Would you like a refill?" She asked, indicating his empty glass.

He glanced at the clock, "I should head home, actually. I didn't realize how late it's become. You have class tomorrow."

She laughed and stood with him, "Well if you get lonely, I'm available to talk."

"Likewise," Alexander nodded. "Have a good evening, Narcissa."

"You too, Alexander," she said, watching him floo back to Nott Manor. She smiled and looked at the clock. It was quite late. Who'd have thought they'd talk for so long?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When it was announced on Halloween that a board member would be watching classes of the four new professors, everyone knew that Professor Fox was the target. He was, after all, the only muggleborn professor. Severus' suggestion box was filled with praise for the new professor, much to his amusement. Even Slytherin defended their new potions professor, which actually gave him confidence. Although he knew no matter the students' opinion, the board would make their own. He took great comfort that it was Alexander coming to judge Fox. He would be fair, which was more than you could say about any of the other board members who had bigotry as the reason they didn't think Fox was capable.

From his end, when Severus had been asked to recommend a potions professor he'd immediately thought of Joseph Fox. He was one of the brightest students that Severus had ever had and he loved potions. He was also very young for a potions master, just as Snape had been, though Joseph was far more personable than him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When it was time for the ministry employees to arrive at Hogwarts Snape had them floo into his office. He didn't want the student body to see them. Harry entered at the appointed time and Severus watched carefully as the Unspeakable cast spells over Harry. "Hmm," the wizard said.

"Good or bad?" Amelia asked.

"Different," he answered. "I need to cast some more spells."

After another five minutes of silence as spells were cast at Harry's scar Snape was ready to start torturing the Unspeakable for answers. "Well?" He demanded.

"The scar shows abnormalities," the Unspeakable answered, glaring at Snape for rushing him.

"What's wrong with my scar?" Harry asked.

"Can you fix it?" Amelia Bones asked.

"I'm not sure."

Harry frowned and looked around the room. Lots of grave faces who wouldn't meet his eyes but Snape…Snape looked furious. "I'll bloody kill them both," he heard Snape mutter before the headmaster collected himself, "Mr. Potter, please walk into my personal chambers for a few moments. I need to have a _chat_ with these Ministry employees."

Harry didn't like how no one would look him in the eye but he got the feeling Snape's anger was on Harry's behalf. He exited the room, very nervous. Once the door was shut Severus locked eyes with the Unspeakable and unloaded, "You aren't sure? I was told you could heal any problems with the scar!"

"It's not a horcrux. At least, not a normal one."

"Explain or risk learning what I learned from Voldemort," Snape growled.

"Severus you can't threaten…" Amelia began.

"Answer the damn question," Snape's voice grew louder, "you are here only because you assured me the boy would be unharmed yet not a single healer is in this room, Amelia. They're all Unspeakables or aurors."

She looked around the room, realizing for the first time that Snape was right. While some wizards and witches wore the robes of St. Mungo's, they weren't healers or even mediwitches and mediwizards. They were Unspeakables. "I expect a good explanation for this," Amelia frowned at the Unspeakable.

"The boy is dangerous."

"He is a _boy_ ," Snape pointed out. "You and Albus might have wanted him to be otherwise but Harry is thirteen years old. Now what did you find in the scar? If I have to ask again, you won't like the way I do it," his eyes flashed menacingly and the Unspeakable faltered but he held firm. Sick of waiting, Snape wandlessly cast Legilimens and entered the man's mind. Unspeakables might be trained to keep secrets but Snape had seen Voldemort in action. He knew how to use the spell to full effect. And given how uncommon such spells were, it wasn't surprising the man had few mental barriers. Snape got the information he needed and exited the man's mind, intentionally inflicting as much pain as he could in the process.

* * *

Harry heard someone cry out in pain on the other side of the door. He shifted uncomfortably, unsure what exactly he was waiting for. He'd already heard Snape yelling at the other people in the room. After a few minutes the headmaster opened the door, "Harry, please rejoin us."

When Harry entered the room the other people were gone. It was just Amelia Bones and Snape. "What's going on?"

Amelia sighed and answered the question. She shared Snape's fury with the Unspeakables, whose minds had all been erased of the results of Harry's scar. She didn't have the heart to arrest Severus Snape for those charms. She was appalled that the Unspeakables had not only lied to her but had no alternatives beyond killing Harry. The fact of the matter was, Snape had trusted her and she'd failed him.

* * *

So over the next half hour Amelia Bones explained horcruxes to Harry Potter and how they'd quietly been destroying them. After taking everything in Harry asked, "Am _I_ a horcrux?"

"No," Snape answered. "The idiot's mind was clear on that. The spell went awry. His spells and your mother's love destroyed everyone in the room but you. It even took out the house. But because of the shielding power of Lily's sacrifice, you're not a horcrux."

"From what Severus saw the spell was completely screwed up which means that you share a mental link with Voldemort as well as some of his abilities," Amelia elaborated.

"But his soul does not reside in your body," Snape clarified. "Otherwise Lily's sacrifice would be for naught."

That Harry understood. "So how do I keep him out of my mind?" He asked after a few moments of thought.

"I can help with that. I'm an occlumens and a legilimens. Not only can I keep people out of my mind, I can enter others' minds," Snape said. "It is a skill that can be learned, although it's not a pleasant process. It can be quite painful. But once your training is complete, your mind would be impervious to attack even by Voldemort. It's how I survived being a spy in the first war."

Harry didn't like the thought of it hurting, obviously, but he saw the importance of learning it. Voldemort might not have any more horcruxes but he wasn't dead yet. Keeping him out of Harry's head seemed really important. "I'd like to learn Occlumency," Harry decided.

"We can work out a schedule," Snape said. "Madame Bones it goes without saying the ministry can mind its own business when it comes to Mr. Potter."

"Of course," she nodded in understanding. "As far as the ministry is concerned, he has no horcrux within him and that's the end of our investigation. Now we focus on finding Riddle."


	17. Sports! Sports! Sports!

**A/N- Life really does get in the way sometimes. My apologies for the wait. Anyway, here's chapter 17!**

* * *

The second week of November and the day of the first quidditch match of the season- Gryffindor vs Slytherin- Alexander Nott arrived at Hogwarts. Hermione saw him as she was exiting the school and ran over to hug him, "They're sending you?"

"I'm the only one with children at school," Alexander shrugged. Yes he'd volunteered, but he didn't think that was important. He was doing the right thing and giving Fox his best chance at a favorable review. He knew the others would stack the deck against the muggleborn and that irritated him. A student asked a question? Fox didn't explain everything thoroughly. A student's cauldron exploded? Fox didn't supervise them enough. For the sake of him not snapping and hexing the idiots, Alexander being the one to 'investigate' was really the only option. "Plus I get to see my son play quidditch and spend time with my lovely daughter. Seems like a win-win, to me."

Hermione smiled, "Theo was very nervous at breakfast but I'm sure he'll be fantastic."

"Of course he will," Alexander smiled before straightening up, "I need to meet the headmaster. I get my own rooms while I'm here. I'll see you at the match."

"Okay," Hermione nodded. "Are you going to sit with us or with the professors?"

"I think the professors. That way I can introduce myself to those I don't know."

"Alright," she looked over her shoulder, "I need to go get my seat before Dean and Seamus come out and tease me about betraying Gryffindor by cheering for Slytherin today."

"Enjoy the match dear," Alexander said before entering the castle to find Severus.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"May the best man win, Harry," Draco said as he shook the opposing seeker's hand.

"Should be a proper good match," Harry nodded. "Good luck Draco."

"Don't need luck when you have skill," Draco smirked. Harry rolled his eyes but smiled. Draco wasn't a bully anymore but he still had that ego.

Harry shook hands down the line of Slytherins as usual. When he got to Theo he spoke, "Good luck. And don't fall off your broom or your sister will probably kill our entire team."

"I can't wait to tell her you said that," Theo chuckled. Hopefully for once someone other than him would be in trouble for calling her scary.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione sat in the Slytherin section with Blaise, "Feel different over here?" He asked.

"Not particularly," she answered, "although I'm sure that will change once the game starts."

"We do get loud cheering for our team," Blaise smiled proudly. "So do your house though."

"I think that's why people like this particular match so much. The other two houses just aren't as loud," Hermione mused. She looked at Blaise, "Do you wish you were up there?"

"Of course," Blaise answered. "But Theo's up there and he's my best mate. I'm really proud of him." Hermione smiled at Blaise. Moments like this showed his real character. "Here we go," Blaise said as Madame Hooch's whistle blew. "Come on Theo!"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Is this the Slytherin section?" Alexander asked Narcissa as he moved along the row in the faculty box to the empty seat next to her.

"It is," she nodded as he sat down, "Excited to see your son play?"

"I am," he nodded. "I enjoyed playing for our house. It's nice to see Theo continue the tradition."

"I'm looking forward to seeing Draco play," she admitted. "Severus says he reminds him of you on a broomstick."

"Really? Huh," Alexander mused. He'd been a good seeker. He'd been small up until his sixth year, at which point he'd grown almost half a foot. But by then he was such a good seeker no one could replace him. It'd be interesting to see if Draco did fly like him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The game started off strong, with Gryffindor and Slytherin exchanging possession frequently as the beaters of both sides effectively forced the chasers into dropping the quaffle. However it seemed as though Slytherin had foreseen that and Hermione saw why Flint had been so keen to pick her smaller in stature brother when Flint and the other chaser were each quite tall and broad shouldered. Flint and the other boy served to distract from Theo, who at the last minute was given the quaffle and used his small frame to his advantage, leaning against his broom for the speed boost as he finally beat Oliver Wood and scored the first goal of the match. Hermione cheered with Slytherin, very proud of her brother and surprised by Slytherin's tactical nous. It wasn't what they were known for; perhaps their new head of house had some influence on that front.

* * *

Alexander grinned as Theo scored. "That was impressive," Narcissa said. "I'm glad my suggestion of tactics in quidditch rather than brute force sunk in with Flint."

"How did you phrase it?"

" _Good_ professional teams don't want a chaser who's only good at fouling his opponent," she winked at him. Alexander chuckled. While it was true some clubs like the Chudley Cannons would take just about anyone, what Narcissa said was accurate. No self-respecting Slytherin would want to join the Cannons.

"Your son and Harry seem evenly matched," Alexander observed.

"They do," she nodded, watching Draco swerve to avoid a bludger.

* * *

Harry had already had the same thought as he and Draco flew over the game looking for the snitch. Without an enchanted bludger chasing him down, he could actually appreciate his opponent and Draco, like Harry, was small in build and on a fast broom. Harry wondered if location would matter more than any real skill when it was time to catch the snitch. While Draco's broom was a newer model, there were minor differences between the two and they were close enough when it came to speed that the broom itself wouldn't factor into catching the snitch.

He dodged a bludger and continued his search. Being a seeker could be very dull; unless you were chasing the snitch there really wasn't much to be excited about. He saw Hermione sitting with Blaise in the Slytherin section and smirked. She had Theo's scarf on but it surprised him, how the Slytherins looked nonplussed by her presence. Maybe they weren't quite as bad as he'd always thought. He knew that Draco wasn't, which (like Hermione) he mostly ascribed to Lucius Malfoy no longer being around.

Although given how Alexander Nott had acted when she was in danger, maybe the other Slytherins were afraid of her father and thus afraid to draw his ire. Or it was a bit of both. A glint of gold pulled him out of his thoughts and Harry zoomed toward the snitch. Lee Jordan was saying something about Harry and Malfoy both seeing the snitch but Harry paid little attention to the commentary. He and Malfoy were side by side, hands outstretched, nearly there….

Lee Jordan's voice boomed over the cheers that erupted, "MALFOY GETS THE SNITCH! MALFOY GETS THE SNITCH! SLYTHERIN WIN 240-70!"

* * *

"By a fingertip," Harry immediately pointed out to Draco as they slowed their brooms.

"Still counts," Draco grinned. "Good game Harry."

"Yeah it was," Harry shook Draco's offered hand. "It was a good race to the snitch."

"And you survived a game unscathed," Draco pointed out with a wink before flying off to celebrate with his team. Harry chuckled. That was true. Actually, that might be a first too now that he thought about it. On the positive side, Hermione wouldn't kill him for scaring her.

* * *

"Good try Harry," George said as they landed. "You two were neck and neck to the end."

"Yeah it was close," Fred nodded.

"I'm not too bothered about losing," Harry shrugged. "That's the way to lose if you ask me. A photo finish. If the snitch is just half an inch to the left, I'd have got it."

"Just don't let Oliver hear you're not too bothered about losing," Fred pointed out. "He's furious."

"On a bloody warpath," George elaborated.

"Don't make eye contact," Fred warned him.

"Oi yeah. No eye contact. Otherwise Hermione would have to kill Oliver for hurting you and we'd have to hide the body," George agreed, looking more serious than Harry had ever seen. Harry wasn't entirely sure the twins were joking on that front. That scenario did seem possible.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"My house is going to be having a party tonight," Narcissa mused, accepting the hand Alexander offered her to help her stand up.

"Yes they will," he agreed. "Can't blame them. That was a good team win."

"I'd like us to retain the quidditch cup this year," she said. "I think we've had a good start."

"Without a doubt," Alexander nodded before seeing Snape, "Excuse me Narcissa, I need to go over the class schedule with Severus."

"Of course," she said, watching him walk over to the headmaster.

* * *

Hermione hugged her brother, "You were brilliant, Theo." He'd scored four goals in that game.

"That was so much fun," Theo grinned, "Did you see the way I turned my body on my broom to score my first goal?"

"It was fantastic," Hermione agreed, amused by his excitement. "Now go celebrate with your house. I'll see you at dinner."

"You sure? You could come to the party."

"I'm a Gryffindor and my house just lost," Hermione pointed out, "I'm going to go see the twins and Harry. I'm sure Oliver is furious with the loss and making them miserable."

"Well okay," Theo hugged her, "dinner then."

"Enjoy yourself," she smiled at him before moving toward Dean and Seamus who were headed toward her.

* * *

Oliver locked himself up in his dorm when they returned to Gryffindor tower, which the quidditch team was relieved by. Yes it sucked that they lost but it was probably the cleanest game they'd ever had vs Slytherin and it wasn't like they were crushed by their opponents. It'd been close enough that whoever caught the snitch would win.

Although the house was overall a little down, Harry felt proud of his performance. He'd given it his all and he knew the rest of the team had too; he thought Oliver was taking things a bit too seriously. Okay, last year Harry would have been devastated to lose to Slytherin. But things were different now. It wasn't losing to an enemy, it was being beaten by his potions partner/rival and Hermione's brother. Draco was the second youngest seeker in Hogwarts' history. Of course he was bloody good at it. And Theo had had a really outstanding first game from what his teammates and Hermione said.

Harry was sure Oliver was going to make training even harder and more brutal, but in the end he doubted anything would have changed today. Oliver's strategy had been anticipating Slytherin playing dirty and expecting lots of fouls and penalty shots. That hadn't happened and the game was instead very tight. "How long before Oliver gets over this?" Harry asked the older members of the team.

"At least a few weeks," Alicia answered. "He's really hopeful for a professional quidditch career and winning the trophy this year was, he hoped, his chance to get it."

"That's stupid," Hermione said, sitting down. "It's about your individual performance and how you carry yourself in a match." At the surprised look on the others' faces she blushed, "Theo talked about professional quidditch alot this past summer."

"Apparently," Fred smirked.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next day came with a chance for revenge on Gryffindor's part. It was the football game and the teams were Gryffindor vs Slytherin. Alexander sat in the bleachers with his children, Harry, Neville, and Blaise in the Gryffindor section, watching as their friends Dean and Seamus played. "Did you try out for the team?" He asked his daughter.

"I considered it but we had plenty of first years and second years eager to try out so I decided they probably needed the connection with home more than I did," she answered.

"She's enjoying embarrassing her house at ping pong," Theo smirked.

Hermione blushed at his words while Alexander chuckled, "Having seen you beat Troy at it I can't say I'm surprised."

"This is the first real game," Hermione explained, her cheeks still pink. "All the houses have been playing practice games to teach the game to those who don't know it in five a side games but this is the first full eleven game. Professor Snape's arranged for them to be the day after quidditch games." The quidditch game had been packed the day before and this was no different, Alexander noticed. The bleachers were filled with students and staff. He recognized his son's fellow Slytherins were all there; even the ones whose parents espoused blood prejudice. House pride was on the line so that wasn't surprising. Perhaps Snape had stumbled upon the way to really wipe out the bigotry that lingered in their society. It didn't matter if the activity was muggle or magical. Slytherin would always want to beat Gryffindor.

Fox was the referee, and it seemed that two seventh year muggleborns (a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff) were the linesmen with Hootch on the sidelines watching over them. "This is going to be way more physical," Theo said.

"It's an inherently more physical game," Hermione said. "Quidditch can be much more violent but football is simply more physical by nature."

"This will be good," Blaise smiled. He liked having a weekend full of sports. It was great fun. It really felt like a break from school.

"Yeah it'll be cool to see Dean finally play," Harry nodded. "He's such a footy fan he's been dreaming about this game."

"Dean will be great," Neville said confidently. He was excited to see his friend play. And after losing to Slytherin yesterday, it'd be good to win today.

Alexander had never seen a game of football so before his trip to Hogwarts he'd watched a professional match with Troy on the television so that the muggle could explain to him things he didn't quite understand fully. While Alexander had already understood the rules, seeing them put in practice was a different story. He felt much more prepared for that day's game as a result. The Gryffindor-Slytherin game was constant back and forth; despite being completely unfamiliar with the sport it seemed that Slytherin had quickly learned it.

Hermione's friend Dean seemed quite good. He was playing as a midfielder and seemed to be directing his team from his position. Harry referred to it as 'bossing the midfield' which amused the older man. "Do you watch many football matches?" He asked his daughter.

"I used to," Hermione answered. "It was our father-daughter activity when I was small. He was desperate for me to be athletic but I just wasn't all that interested in sports," she elaborated.

"Or you didn't want to be on a team with other children who made fun of you," Alexander wisely pointed out. Hermione smiled at him before returning her attention to the game. That was admittedly part of her displeasure with sports growing up.

* * *

Gryffindor won the match 4-2 and the crowd's response was as loud as Slytherin's quidditch win the previous day. Alexander watched, amused, as the Gryffindors flooded the field to congratulate their classmates. His daughter and her Gryffindor friends joined them and Alexander sat, taking in the school's overwhelming delight with a muggle sport. If the other board members could see this they'd be horrified and incredibly confused. Most of them had seemed to think the muggle sports wouldn't last or be welcomed. Alexander had seen a massive flaw in their logic- there had previously _only_ been quidditch at Hogwarts so students who wanted to compete but didn't make the quidditch team would surely seize their chance with the two muggle sports being added to the school.

It seemed an accurate theory, given the students' response to the football match. He chuckled as he watched the Weasley twins lift Dean up on their shoulders. Alexander walked away that afternoon more certain than ever; football had truly arrived at Hogwarts, and it was here to stay. No matter what the board might think, the students wouldn't take losing a sport lightly. Which was probably Snape's intent all along with the suggestion of a 'trial basis'. It was very Slytherin logic. Alexander chuckled to himself. Too bad the board was full of former Hufflepuffs.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

That evening Alexander joined Narcissa Malfoy in her rooms for a drink. "Looking forward to attending classes again?" She asked him with a smirk.

"Not at all," he answered. "But I did enjoy sitting with Hermione and Theo today at the match. So at least my visit won't be a total wash."

She smiled. He was the opposite of Lucius in so many ways; wanting to spend time with his children without any alternative motivations was one of them. Narcissa found that admirable. "Have they talked about their professors?"

"They have," he nodded. "Mostly Hermione, though. Theo is the master of underselling. Fine, good, just as good as Snape," Alexander chuckled. "He's just not as interested in classes as his sister. Her words are much more descriptive."

"I hope I've received positive reviews," Narcissa mused. "I know she and my son didn't get along and Lucius did nearly have her killed."

"She wouldn't hold that over you," Alexander dismissed. "My daughter judges people on their own merit, not on their last name. Something else the Grangers instilled in her; though I could honestly say I'd have done the same. I know better than most that your family name doesn't have to dictate your life."

"That's the opposite that I've always believed," Narcissa mused. "I always did my parents' bidding. And then my husband's. I lacked that courage my sister Andi had."

"Well it's easier to be brave when you're in love," Alexander swirled the whiskey in his glass. "Love makes you very certain, very stupid, and very rash," he chuckled. "No wonder Voldemort never understood it. It's a very complicated emotion."

"But a good one?"

"I've only ever been in love once," he said. "What I felt for Aurelia was definitely good. It's something I hope our children both experience. A love so intense and strong; I was devoted to her and her to me. There wasn't anything I wouldn't have done for her."

"Everything after that must pale in comparison," Narcissa mused.

"I think that's in part why I haven't dated. I had it once and I'm not so sure I could have something like that again. We all get one true love, I think, and mine died far too soon." She studied his face. Talking about Aurelia always put pain in his eyes; but he also lit up when her name came up. He must have loved her deeply to still have such an intensely sorrowful reaction over ten years after Aurelia Nott had died.


	18. Potions Audit!

**A/N- Harry begins occlumency, Snape reveals why he joined the Death Eaters (something I thought the books should have touched on more), potions class. Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry winced and rubbed his head. Learning occlumency really, really hurt. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done. "You need to push harder against me, Harry."  
"I know," he accepted the butterbeer Snape offered, "it's really difficult to protect my mind though."

"Occlumency is possibly the most difficult magic to learn. It's not something that can be shown to a student like learning how to cast a spell or even brew a potion. I can't show you how I shield my mind unless you enter it via legilimency and you're not yet able to cast that," Snape said.

"How long did it take you to learn?" Harry asked.

"My last two years at Hogwarts I began studying it. I was a full-fledged occlumens about a year after I graduated. I was told by the dark lord that I was the fastest student of occlumency that he'd ever heard of," the headmaster answered.

"Why did you join the Death Eaters?" Harry asked before blushing. "Sorry, that's not my business."

"It's a fair question," Snape shrugged. "One reason was financial. I grew up poor and it takes money to study to become a potions master. You have to be able to afford some very expensive ingredients in order to make potions that prove your ability as a potioneer. Lucius Malfoy made a point of it that Voldemort would financially provide for me to get my mastery. Given the financial situation I was in, it was a very hard offer for an ambitious eighteen year old with no other prospects to turn down."

"Just like that you joined the Death Eaters?" Harry asked.

"I was motivated by more," Snape admitted. "Lucius preyed on the fact that my father had killed my mother during my seventh year after almost two decades of abuse, with me unable to defend her that entire time."

Now that made perfect sense to Harry. An angry, depressed teenager with no links to either world and feeling helpless as he approached adulthood was a sitting duck to be seduced to the Death Eaters. Add in that he was a victim at Hogwarts, constantly being bullied by two pureblood Gryffindors who went unpunished by the self-appointed leader of the light side, and Harry felt a new level of understanding for Severus Snape's fall to the dark side. He'd been practically groomed to fall under Voldemort's spell. "I'm sorry sir. That must have been horrible."

"It was not the easiest year of my life," Snape admitted. "Shortly after joining the Death Eaters I realized my mistake. I had the distinct displeasure of seeing unspeakables perform grotesque experiments on muggleborns that had been captured. The dark lord could be very seductive, but that didn't make me blind to what his followers did. And that was how I realized how wrong I was to join them. But once you join, you cannot leave. He kills those that flee."

"So you became a spy?" Harry asked.

"I learned about a stupid prophecy made by Trelawney, of all people, and told it to Voldemort. I only heard part of it but soon realized afterward that it implicated Lily. I asked Dumbledore to protect your mother. He assured me he would, provided I made a vow to do whatever he asked. Stupidly, and maybe with a fair bit of desperation on my part, I ended up doing just that. It ended up shaping the next dozen years of my life. He made me a professor, told me how to treat my students. 'Be a good Death Eater,' he told me. Be a good spy. Make the children of Death Eaters feel comfortable, confident in your loyalty to them. Favor Slytherin house over all others." Snape rolled his eyes, "Even after Voldemort blew up your house and vanished he insisted I keep it up. He was always certain of Voldemort's return."

The more Harry learned about Dumbledore's treatment of Snape and himself, the more he really despised the former headmaster. He had a feeling he knew the answer but had to ask, "And when I came?"

"He knows how to push my buttons. Kept calling you James' son. Would remark how much like your father you were. He had me hating you before I ever laid eyes on you with all the James comparisons. Bastard."

Harry didn't understand why Dumbledore would want Harry and Snape to hate each other until suddenly it came to him and his eyes widened at the implications, "He didn't want me looking to you to learn about my parents! So he intentionally built that hatred between us and stoked it so that I'd be dependent on him only, making sure the only people I talked to who knew my parents spoke in glowing terms about them."

That made sense to Snape. He shook his head, "Albus was very effective. He always was, though." Snape looked at the clock to see the time, "It's getting late. Before our next session you should consider practicing meditation. I found it aided me greatly as I learned occlumency. There are plenty of muggle books on meditation I'm sure your aunt could send to you to help if you need it."

"Okay," Harry nodded, taking the hall pass from Snape in case a prefect or Filch stopped him on his return trip to Gryffindor tower. "Thanks for helping me with this, Professor Snape."

"You're welcome," Snape said before watching Harry leave the office. "Albus I hope you're suffering in your Azkaban cell for what you did to that boy," he said aloud. Snape could handle himself being used as Dumbledore had done; he didn't like it, but he could live with it. What really angered him was how the man had created Harry as a martyr and a victim. While Snape loathed James and didn't have many nice feelings toward Lily, the fact was that Snape had given Dumbledore plenty of notice to protect them. Dumbledore _could_ have ushered them out of the country. He could have encouraged them to leave. Instead he'd set it up so that Harry, the chosen child of the prophecy (which Snape really didn't believe in), was easily got to. The prophecy easily fulfilled. And then he'd bewitched muggles to cause him harm and pain for the next decade or more to make him all the more pliable for Dumbledore's purposes. If you asked Severus Snape, in his own way Dumbledore was far darker than Voldemort. There was a Machiavellian method to Dumbledore's actions that Voldemort had never grasped.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Alexander Nott sat in the back of the potions classroom, watching the students file in and sit with someone from another house. He noticed that the pairings were a little different than his children had initially told him about. Theo was sitting with Longbottom and Hermione was sitting with Blaise. Perhaps Fox had not known about Hermione and Theo being siblings. Similarly it seemed that Daphne Greengrass was sitting with Seamus Finnigan while Gregory Goyle was seated with Dean Thomas. "I change the pairings up when I deem it necessary," Fox explained to him when Alexander asked.

"Why separate Hermione and Theo?"

"Finnigan and Zabini had a tendency to get into trouble together. One exploded cauldron was enough for me. Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass take Potions the most seriously and keep the two boys focused. When they're focused, they're easily E students. A bit more effort and they could both get an O by the end of the year."

"And Theo being paired with the Longbottom boy?"

"Longbottom gets very nervous with strangers and thinks very little of himself but Theo's influence has stamped out the silly mistakes he makes. And Goyle needs patience which Thomas has in spades. He doesn't treat Goyle like the boy is an idiot which I think is a first for him. I initially paired them up based on their grades from last year; and that worked up to a point. Potter and Malfoy get on very well in my class, for example. But after I got to know them a bit I made the necessary changes."

Alexander nodded in understanding. That all made sense in his opinion. "Did they complain?"

"No, surprisingly. I thought Miss Greengrass and Miss Granger might be upset about being essentially babysitters for their partners but neither witch has complained yet. If anything these pairings seem to make the class go easier. It's been a few weeks since our last accident."

"What potion are you working on today?" Alexander asked.

"Girding potion," Fox answered. "Professor Snape and I think it's best to teach it before students are thinking of just _how_ a seemingly unlimited amount of stamina could be more useful." Having used the potion for sexual purposes himself as a teenager, Alexander nodded in understanding. That was a good idea. He was pretty sure his daughter had come about because of that potion, actually. Now that he thought about it, he should teach both his children the contraceptive charm. Better to know it before you needed it rather than after.

"I have to start class now, Mr. Nott."

"Yes yes, go right ahead."

* * *

Alexander watched as Professor Fox talked for about ten minutes about the Girding potion and potential pitfalls it held as well as its uses. He left out one rather obvious one but given the smirk on a few of the students' faces, they'd already had a similar thought. "The ingredients are on the board. Now get to work."

"I'll get the ingredients," Blaise said, getting up from their table and heading to the ingredient cupboard. Hermione set up their cauldron. At first she'd been disappointed to not work with Theo anymore; he understood her so they worked together well. But Blaise would do her bidding without question, so she had no complaints.

* * *

Alexander watched the students as they prepared their potions. The pairings clearly worked well together. Fox helped those students that required help, Weasley and Crabbe the most, but his time was otherwise spent monitoring the room. At the end of the class Fox gathered the potions, "Your homework is actually the start of a project. Each pairing will be given a potion or type of potion. You will write an essay on the positives and negatives of these potions, be they side effects, ethical concerns, or of course the legality of them."

He then began handing out slips with the potions on them. "These are due at the end of January. I want you to do lots of research on this. It will be an important part of your grade."

"Wolfsbane?" Draco looked up at their professor, "Sir we can't brew that yet."

"You aren't expected to. This is just an essay project as well as a class presentation. I want to see your abilities to argue your conclusions and just how much information you've taken in. Each pairing has a different potion. Many of you will need to look at books about these potions that are in the restricted section so when you need that book, come to me and I'll write you a permission slip. Class dismissed."

* * *

"What did you get?" Harry asked Hermione as she packed up her things to leave.

"Love potions," she answered. "I like this assignment. It should be a good one."

As the students filed out of the classroom Alexander remained. He looked at Fox, "Why an assignment that is all theory?"

"I think it's very easy to just make what's on the board without thinking too much about the ethics behind the potion. Is it right for it to even exist? Should it be illegal? Why is it illegal? They brew it because I tell them to, or Professor Snape told them to. I want to see if they can come up with arguments for the use or disuse of the more controversial potions."

"And was giving my daughter love potions intentional?" Alexander asked.

Fox nodded, "She's muggle raised. Blaise is not. I think they'll have an interesting argument over love potions. All the other girls grew up in muggle homes and many likely have betrothals or at the very least are familiar with them. Enough that love potions seem inconsequential, certainly."

"I can certainly see the wisdom of that," Alexander nodded his approval. "What other potions did you assign?"  
"Veritaserum, Polyjuice, invisibility potion, Mopsus potion, Gregory's Unctous Unction, Felix Felicis," Fox answered. "Most of them have proper uses. Some really don't. I wanted to be sure each pair would have to work together outside of class. Hopefully they can get to know one another and be less hostile in the halls."

"How are you finding teaching at Hogwarts?"

"The headmaster has been very helpful, giving me advice from his own early days teaching," Fox replied, "from what I've learned from my colleagues I've adapted my own style. So far I've enjoyed it."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

While their father might be at Hogwarts for a week, Hermione and Theo didn't see him very much outside of in their classes. Not that either complained, as Hermione was insisting on her and Blaise getting a start on their potions essay the day after it was assigned.

They met in the library. Upon arriving Hermione looked at Blaise, "We should start by listing the pros and cons and then we can flesh them out for our essay."

"For pros I think the obvious argument is that betrothals aren't based on love anyway. So a love potion could make the marriage much more palatable," Blaise said, leaning back in his chair.

"I could never imagine having one of those," Hermione frowned.

"For most of the Sacred 28, it's a requirement," Blaise shrugged. "Even some that aren't Sacred 28. I won't end up with a betrothal. People don't trust my mother given how many of her husbands have 'accidentally' died."

Hermione gave Blaise a sympathetic smile before keeping them on track, "We have to write about the negatives too. Personally I think the negatives far outweigh the so-called positives. But first we need to look into lots of different love potions and learn about them and what all they do to the person consuming them."

They headed for Madam Pince's desk, "Madam Pince? We're working on our potions project and we need books that contain love potions. Professor Fox gave us this permission slip," Hermione smiled at the librarian.

"There are twelve books that include love potions in them," Pince said, gazing at the pair of them over her glasses which were perched on the tip of her nose. "I will let you look at them two at a time. No more."

"Thank you," Hermione said. Pince headed into the restricted section and emerged with two tomes for them to study.

* * *

Back at their table Blaise flipped through the book looking for the potion. There were plenty of nasty ones contained within it. "Ew," Hermione shuddered, "some of these are particularly vile."

"In my book too," Blaise nodded. "Why would you ever make some of these?" he asked.

"Because you're a sadist?" She theorized out loud.

"That would make sense I suppose," he conceded. "Finally! Found Amortentia."

"That's the strongest one isn't it?"

"Yeah," Blaise nodded. He pulled out the notebook Theo had given him and started taking notes about the potion as he read. He liked these muggle things for taking notes. Much easier to deal with than parchment, quill, and ink. "This potion is extreme," he frowned. "You become a bloody stalker when you consume it. But it's not love. It's worse. This is abuse. You use it to enslave someone."

Hermione looked up at Blaise. She'd expected him to be much more okay with love potions. Blaise wasn't like Ernie MacMillan nor did he hate muggles but he was very much a typical pureblood wizard. "You really hate this potion," Hermione said.

"How could anyone _not_ hate this potion? It's absolutely vile!"

She couldn't help the smile that formed. Sometimes Blaise surprised her. She liked learning about him; Theo got on with all of her friends, even Harry who'd promptly insulted him as soon as they'd met properly. So it was important to her to get on with Blaise. As difficult as that sometimes seemed. She leaned into him as she looked at the potion's description. He was right. It was vile. And needed to be administered every 4-7 days depending on the size of the victim. "It does read like you're creating a sex slave," she admitted. "Ugh you'd have to be incredibly sadistic or ridiculously obsessed to do this to someone."

"Imagine how lonely your life is if you think Amortentia creates love," Blaise said after a few minutes. Hermione was looking through the potion's description and recipe and was adding to his notes while he took over looking through the other book to try and find the love potion it held.

"If the strongest love potion doesn't create love, I think it's safe to say all of them are actually obsession potions and not love potions," Hermione mused. "It's just a question of how strong the obsession is."

"Which makes them all bad by default," Blaise reasoned.

"Agreed," Hermione nodded. "This project just became much more straight forward."

"Sweet," Blaise grinned. "We can just criticize the stupid thing, right? There are no positives to these things."

"That's true," she agreed. "It robs people of their free will and doesn't even create love but obsession. I think those are our two biggest arguments to start with."

"This is going to be so much easier," Blaise's voice was gleeful. Hermione shook her head. Blaise was ridiculous. That was one aspect of him that she found annoyed her; Blaise wasn't all that bothered about schoolwork nor did he take it seriously. He was always looking for a shortcut to get around his assignments and Hermione found that irritated her. Especially when they were working together.

But in this case she had to admit he wasn't wrong. Love potions didn't have any positives and were full of negatives. Their project would be extremely easy as a result.


	19. Winter Holidays Approach!

**A/N- Life is a jerk sometimes. Updates will not be regular, but I did have this completed and after some editing decided to upload it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Amelia Bones sighed. It was nearly December and they were still no closer to finding Voldemort. Granted, Europe was big. And if he'd jumped across the Mediterranean into Africa? The task seemed insurmountable and they'd not had a sniff of where he might be hiding yet. "He seems to well and truly have gone underground," Amelia rubbed her temples, "Our only choice seems to be to wait for him to surface."

"I hate waiting around," Rufus Scrimgeour grumbled.

"So do I but what choice do we have?" She looked at him, "We can't go on wild hippogriff chases looking for him. We don't have the staff."

"True," Scrimgeour conceded. "So we wait and prepare so that we're ready when he rears his head?"

"It's the option that makes the most sense," Amelia nodded. "We don't want to scare the public with the fact he's alive, especially when he's currently not a threat. And do we really want to give the Death Eaters in Azkaban and out of it a reason to look for him?"

Public panic wasn't a good idea and Scrimgeour knew it. "Fine we do things quietly. But we need to be in other countries looking for him."

"Perhaps we should think of using any missing persons cases as an excuse to visit and quietly poke around," Amelia looked at the pile of missing person folders. They had a stack of missing person cases; mostly from purebloods whose children had left home as soon as they'd graduated Hogwarts. In most instances the children wanted away from their overly controlling parents; so the aurors often just left the cases alone. Plus, there wasn't much they could do legally speaking. They could only ask other countries if they'd seen the witch or wizard in question. They had no legal jurisdiction.

"I like that idea," Rufus smiled, taking the top folder, "Duncan Thurlow. Age 19, last seen at his parents' home refusing a betrothal."

"We'll take four aurors we trust from the department and send them out. Run the case down and listen for anything about Voldemort or Tom Riddle," Amelia decided. "I say Shacklebolt, Dawlish, Summerbee, and Mitchell. They're all aware of our efforts to stop Voldemort and all quite capable. We send one or two out, then when they return send the other two?"

"I'll have them all come in early tomorrow. What about Fudge?"

"He knows these cases are a waste of time; I'll tell him we're going to get rid of them to improve our case closure rate. He'll love spinning that to the press after all the hits we took this past summer because of Dumbledore and that damn monster." Rufus nodded in understanding. The ministry could certainly use the good press. Hogwarts was doing better than ever in the eyes of the press; not something you'd have imagined with Severus Snape at the helm. The man didn't exactly come across as the most affable headmaster ever. But then again, wasn't Dumbledore always charming everyone to hide his bad behavior?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

There was palpable disappointment when Alexander Nott had reported to the board that the new potions teacher was quite good at his job. But the positives, in his opinion, were that with Potter's approval of Hermione's suggestion the board had finally decided to allow notebooks and pens. On a trial basis, of course. Everything came with that asterisk; a threat that it could be reneged at any given moment. After his time at Hogwarts, Alexander would love to see them try it. The students would revolt.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

On the first of December Amelia Bones entered her office and froze. She drew her wand instantly and pointed it at a hooded figure standing near her bookshelf. "Reveal yourself," she ordered.

The figure raised its hands in surrender, "I'm here to turn myself in," Amelia was surprised by the almost squeaky voice. The hood lowered and her eyes widened. Standing before her was the previously thought deceased Peter Pettigrew.

"How in the name of Merlin are you even alive?" She asked.

"That's a long, complicated story," Pettigrew answered.

"Sit down," she ordered, "I have time to listen."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Three days later Amelia Bones flooed to Hogwarts and Severus Snape's office, "Three days ago Peter Pettigrew appeared in my office," she told the headmaster.

Snape blinked in surprise, "Really?"

"Yes," she answered. "I was shocked."

"After all these years he was alive?"

"He was an unregistered animagus," Amelia explained. "He told quite the tale. I thought it important that you hear it."

"Very well," Snape leaned back in his chair, "by all means, tell me his tale."

"It starts with when you were in school. Peter said he was never a fan of the way James Potter and Sirius Black bullied you. When Sirius and James set you up to be killed, he told Dumbledore. Dumbledore said 'Boys will be boys' and did nothing. Peter has given us details about that incident and the Ministry _will_ be prosecuting Sirius Black for it. It should have been reported in the first place."

"So Black's conviction for the death of Pettigrew is being pulled?"

"Obviously," she nodded. "However thanks to Peter there's a whole slew of new charges. I doubt he'll be getting out of Azkaban." Snape nodded, rather pleased. Sirius Black would not be a good influence in Harry's life and that idiot would do anything to insert himself into the boy's life once he saw Harry looked just like James. Sirius' attachment to James Potter had more than once had Severus and many other classmates questioning Black's sexuality. Amelia continued her story, "Peter was confused by Dumbledore's reaction to the news you had nearly been killed. But it wasn't until he learned what else Sirius had done that he became completely disillusioned by the light side."

Snape waited for Amelia to speak. The witch seemed furious and he wondered just what Black had done to deserve such ire. Finally Amelia gathered herself, "Sirius Black used a love potion to get James Potter the witch he wanted."

Snape's blood ran cold as his brain brought back memory after memory of Lily's sudden and at the time bizarre romantic interest in James Potter. "The fucking bastard," Snape snarled. "Give me five minutes with him, Amelia. Just five bloody minutes alone with him."

"I can't do that for obvious reasons," she smiled apologetically. "We'll also be charging Black with that crime so try to resist the urge to kill the man."

"That will be a struggle," Snape muttered, his knuckles white as he clenched his fists in anger.

"Peter told Dumbledore about _that_ too. Again, Dumbledore did nothing." The murderous gaze Snape fixed her with made the witch very glad that Sirius Black and Dumbledore would be imprisoned the rest of their lives. If they ever got out she was sure Snape would kill them both. It was a sentiment Amelia knew many people shared.

"How long was Lily on the love potion?" Severus asked after he'd calmed down.

"Until she married Potter. Black stopped giving it to her then." Snape gave a sigh of relief. If nothing else, at least Harry wasn't conceived courtesy of a love potion. Snape knew what that had done to Voldemort. Dumbledore's obsession with Harry suddenly made much more sense. Born a half-blood, parents united by a love potion, orphaned at a young age. The parallels between Harry and Riddle were disturbing. But Snape reminded himself the parallels existed solely because Dumbledore had permitted them to exist. If Dumbledore had stopped Black, if Dumbledore had done anything at all, things wouldn't have happened as they did.

"Why didn't Peter tell anyone else?" Snape asked.

"Pettigrew had taken the dark mark by then. Potter and Black were accepted into the auror program," Amelia answered. "He didn't think he'd be believed and he hardly wanted to be caught with the dark mark on his arm."

"Peter was a Death Eater?" That honestly surprised him. But then, Snape wouldn't have believed he himself would have become a Death Eater if you'd told him so his first four years at Hogwarts. So perhaps it wasn't so surprising, in hindsight.

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "He's confessed his crimes and also offered up some information about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Information we didn't previously have. He's been very forthright. And a trip to Dumbledore confirmed Pettigrew's story. Rufus nearly punched the old man."

"And Black?"

"Also confirmed Pettigrew's account. Veritaserum has its uses, as you well know."

Snape sighed, "Will there be a trial?"

"Only insofar as we're bringing Pettigrew back to life after he was thought dead for so long."

"What about Peter's crimes?"

"He was smart," she answered. "Pettigrew was able to tell us in what country Voldemort is hiding and Rufus and Shacklebolt have already left to destroy him."

"So he found out where Voldemort was before turning himself in to offer up the best incentive to keep him out of Azkaban," Snape mused. "And to think that Black used to say Peter wasn't as smart as the other Marauders."

"I talked about it with Fudge and he thinks immunity from prosecution is fair. Everything Peter's said we were able to verify and getting us to Voldemort is obviously crucial. Without his help it would take us a decade or more to find the bastard. Who knows how many would die in that time."

"So what else did he confess to?"

"He was told to get the Potters' address."

"And?"

"And he wasn't the secret keeper, so he couldn't. However, he was able to trick Black into writing down the Potters' address which he then took to Voldemort."

"Black is an idiot," Snape shook his head. "So certain he could spot who was 'good' and who was 'bad' he didn't show any discretion."

"That's accurate," Amelia nodded. "To be honest, I don't think he ever saw Peter Pettigrew as a threat. He had in his mind what a Death Eater was and a Gryffindor wasn't it."

"Stupid," Snape muttered.

"You want to know the kicker?" Amelia asked.

"Let me guess, the old man knew before Peter did it but he let it happen."

"That would be correct," Amelia nodded. "Dumbledore even said that while it was a horrible choice he had to make, he ultimately had to let the prophecy come to pass to save our world."

"Bullshit."

"That's what I said," Amelia shook her head, "Albus sees nothing wrong with his actions. I've had to order aurors to do things that lead to some of them being killed. I understand someone must be on the frontlines. But Albus doesn't understand that Lily Potter was not an auror. That Harry Potter was just a baby. He didn't and doesn't see them as people. He sees them as pawns on a chessboard. Even you and Pettigrew. He had futures laid out for you both and he wanted you to do specific things and you both did them. The only difference is he blackmailed and controlled you directly while Peter was more of a subtle approach."

Snape shook his head. Frankly if it came out that Voldemort himself had been created by Dumbledore that wouldn't surprise Severus Snape at this point. It was hard to blame Pettigrew for many of his actions when Dumbledore stood there behind the scenes, yanking the strings that he had long ago put in motion. It also made Snape wonder; Dumbledore's actions (or lack thereof) had led to both him and Peter turning to Voldemort. How many others had been sacrificed by the man during the war? How many babies were orphans like Harry or weren't born because they'd been killed due to Dumbledore's schemes? That was a very disturbing and haunting thought. Who knew how many lives Dumbledore had ultimately shattered because of his manipulations and plotting; it was a number Snape couldn't even begin to wrap his head around.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

December eighth saw Harry summoned to the headmaster's office. "Sir?"

"Come in Mr. Potter."

Harry entered and closed the door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Take a seat, Harry." Harry immediately knew it was serious. Snape never used his given name unless the subject was incredibly personal. "Have you ever heard of a man named Peter Pettigrew?"

"In my mum's letters she said he was the one who saved you when my father and Sirius Black tried to kill you," Harry answered.

"He did," Snape nodded. "Not long after your parents died and Voldemort vanished Sirius Black attacked and killed Peter Pettigrew in a crowded alley. He killed 12 other people as well in the blast." After a pause Snape continued, "Or at least, that was what was assumed until a few days ago when a living Peter Pettigrew appeared in Amelia Bones' office."

"He's not dead?"

"No," Snape answered. "Amelia Bones came to see me to tell me what transpired. It involves you and I know you've had questions about your parents. Especially your mother. Everything Peter said was verified, so I can probably answer some of those questions now."

And with that Snape began telling Harry about Peter rescuing Snape and telling Dumbledore about the plan. That Harry had already known, but what Snape said next was horrifying. "Peter found out that Sirius Black 'helped' James woo Lily by administering a love potion to her," Harry's eyes widened in horror and Snape stopped talking.

Harry rubbed his face, "Now her letters make sense. She had a big personality change. Love potions can do that right?"  
"Yes," Snape nodded. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"You're not the one that drugged my mother," Harry shook his head and frowned. Harry felt a pit in his stomach but despite sensing the answer he asked, "Did my father know?"

"Peter said he did. That was why Sirius was made godfather to you. 'To thank him for helping him get the girl' were the words James used."

Harry felt sick at the thought. His mother had been abused. He knew a little about love potions since Hermione and Blaise were researching them for potions class. The potion was especially vile. It enslaved the drinker with an obsession for the target. Harry looked up at Snape, "So was she on the love potion when she had me?"

"No," Snape shook his head, "Black stopped administering it once she'd married Potter. Divorce is unheard of in the magical world. I can only presume Black thought Lily was permanently stuck with Potter once they were married."

Harry sat in thought, thinking about everything he knew about his mother from her letters, from his aunt, and from Snape. Snape watched him. The boy was surprisingly resilient but in the headmaster's opinion Harry could use some therapy. Especially after what he'd just learned. "She died to protect me. Aunt Petunia said that she really wanted to have me. That she was excited to be a mum. So even if…even if she was tricked and forced into a marriage to a man she hated, she did love me."

"I would say she certainly loved you given the lengths she went to to protect you," Snape nodded. "Harry, I can arrange for a mind healer to visit the school for you to receive some therapy. I think it might do you good."

"Yeah I think so too," Harry nodded. "Thank you sir. I think it'll take some time to wrap my head around this."

"Understandable," he responded. "I'll contact St. Mungo's and arrange something for you."

"Thank you. And thanks for telling me. It hurts to know, but honestly I feel better knowing my mother wasn't the shallow cow she seemed in those letters," Harry said.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"So as you can see I think it will be great fun for my children and their friends. Harry's quite quidditch mad and I'd be happy to include him. I booked an entire box so there's plenty of room."

Petunia Dursley gazed at Alexander Nott. He was being very generous, which made her a little suspicious instinctually. He seemed a perfectly pleasant sort but she felt an aversion to strange wizards after everything Dumbledore had done to her family. "That's an awful lot of teenagers you'd be taking."

"When your daughter is Hermione Granger you don't have to worry about teenage boys falling out of line or misbehaving. She won't tolerate it," Alexander chuckled. "But I will of course keep a close eye on them. And I won't be alone. Mrs. Finnigan, Seamus' mother, will be accompanying us."

"If Harry wants to go then I've no problems letting him," Petunia decided. "When are you telling them?"

"It will be an end of term surprise," Alexander smiled. "A nice way to cap off a good school year, I think."

"If it's anything like the Muggle World Cup it most definitely will be," Petunia nodded. She paused for a few moments before deciding to ask, "If it's not too much to ask, perhaps you could help arrange magical transport for Harry's birthday party this summer? We wanted to make up for some of the particularly horrible ones he's had over the years and invite his magical friends but we've no way to get them here."

"I or my house elves could solve that problem," Alexander nodded. "It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you," Petunia sighed, relieved she had help on that front. It had been a glaring problem for her in trying to organize a birthday party for Harry that she couldn't just pick his friends up in the family car; but since she didn't know any wizards outside of the healer who was helping her family work through the trauma visited upon them by Dumbledore, she'd not had a clue as to how to arrange the arrival of the magical children. Now that her problem was neatly solved she could resume planning Harry's birthday party.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"I think midterms were harder this year," Harry said to Hermione as they left the last Transfiguration class before winter break.

"It did seem more difficult than last year," Hermione agreed. "Our OWL year is supposed to be much worse, though."

"Gee, something to look forward to," Seamus rolled his eyes as he came up alongside Harry, "This year's much better than last year but I'll be glad to go home and see my parents."

"I get to enjoy Christmas at Nott Manor," Hermione said. "Apparently my father is having a grand ball to bring in the New Year. Hurray Sacred 28, I guess," she sighed dramatically. Harry, Seamus, and Dean all snickered. Hermione glared at them, "I am not above getting you three invited to it, you know."

"We're not purebloods though," Harry pointed out.

"We're also dirty commoners unlike your majesty," Dean gave her a cheeky grin and Hermione wondered why she put up with them. Dean grew serious, "It won't be that bad, Hermione. You've got Theo and Blaise after all."

"You've clearly not seen how they get when they're at home together," Hermione sighed. "It's almost like living with Fred and George."

"That sounds like fun," Harry said, making Hermione glare at him. "You said you wanted a brother."

"But only if he'd finished his annoying phase," Hermione clarified.

"You definitely did not say that," Harry retorted. Hermione gave him a playful shove and Harry laughed.

"You get to have your first Christmas with Theo. I know you're looking forward to that," Dean said, shifting the subject slightly.

"I am," Hermione admitted with a smile. "It'll be nice to spend some more time together. We hardly ever get time alone to bond; especially here at Hogwarts."

"Not much privacy here," Seamus conceded. "And we don't exactly spend loads of time with other houses, even with the rule changes."

"Much more than we used to spend, though," Harry pointed out. "I like it. It's nice to get to know the other houses."

"There's much less mystique around you these days," Hermione smiled. "No wonder you like it."

"Yeah you hardly get stared at anymore," Dean agreed with Hermione. "People aren't even bowing at your feet. It must be dreadful for you these days, being an unknown." Harry stuck his tongue out at Dean and his friends laughed.


	20. I'll Be Home for Christmas!

**A/N- This chapter take place over winter break. Enjoy!**

 **Btw, I still don't own Harry Potter or any IP related to it.**

* * *

Outside of King's Cross Station Petunia Dursley waited for her nephew's return. Harry had been writing regular letters to her since the school year began; it was nice to know that for all the horrors he'd experienced in his young life he was doing well at school. Severus Snape, who she very much remembered from her childhood, had written her about Harry attending therapy which Petunia had wholeheartedly endorsed before he'd brought it up with her nephew. He'd also elaborated on Lily being influenced by a love potion. She felt the loss of Lily all the more, knowing her sister had been abused by that bastard of a husband and forced into a marriage she otherwise might never have wanted.

However there was a feeling of satisfaction that the man who'd poisoned Lily would never leave the wizard prison. She glanced up as she saw Hogwarts students start to exit the train station. Soon Harry exited and she waved to get his attention. "Come on, let's get you home. We're due for a snow storm this evening and the roads are already terrible."

Harry nodded and put his trunk in the car, placing Hedwig's covered cage in the back seat as he climbed in the front. It was just his aunt picking him up from school. His uncle had to work and Dudley's semester ended two days after his. "Mr. Nott invited me to attend a professional quidditch match in early January," Harry told her once they were on the road. "Apparently Theo's bringing Blaise so to be fair Hermione gets to bring her friend too."

"Isn't Blaise Theo's best friend?" Petunia asked, fairly certain she was correct. Since so many wizards had odd names, the ones with more 'normal' ones tended to stick out to her.

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"And so wouldn't that make you Hermione's best friend? She could have asked Dean or Seamus instead."

Harry's brow wrinkled as he thought about it before answering, "Well, she couldn't ask Dean without asking Seamus. They're like the Weasley twins; always together."

"What about that Neville boy? Surely she could ask him," Petunia pointed out. Since coming out of Dumbledore's spell she'd realized how quick her nephew was to think negatively of himself. It made her sick that she'd instilled that in him.

Harry's mouth opened but nothing came out. Finally he looked at her, "You really think I'm her best friend again?"

"Well based on everything I know about this girl I'd say yes," Petunia answered. Harry smiled and she returned it. "How do you like the mind healer?"

"He's really good," Harry answered. "He's really smart and helpful. I feel much better than I did when I first learned what happened to my mum."

"Good," Petunia stopped at a red light, "Did you eat on the train? We could stop for a snack if you like."

"I'm fine," Harry said. "Although a soda and maybe some chips sound rather good."

"I think that's quite doable," Petunia smiled. "So how did you do on your midterms?"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione gazed around her room at Nott Manor. Her father knew her well. There were two bookcases stretching from the floor to the ceiling, filled with books from the Nott library. The bed was a queen size, with purple bedsheets. She opened Crookshanks' carrier, "What do you think Crooks?"

Crookshanks leaped out and glared at her, yowling his displeasure at the carrier. "You had to be in it," Hermione argued, "I'm not apologizing for that."

Ignoring her put out cat, Hermione looked around the room. She had an attached bathroom. The room was perfectly pleasant, if a little devoid of warmth. But since it hadn't been occupied in several decades she supposed that was to be expected. Hermione sat down on the bed and watched as her trunk popped into view. She didn't think she'd ever be fully comfortable with house elves. It really was slavery. Sure the Nott elves were well cared for and treated well but it was still wrong.

But since she had no intentions of ever living in Nott Manor full time, she decided to swallow those concerns and play nice with her blood relatives. Theo was blind to why having house elves was wrong. Her father seemed to understand her concerns, but seemed to think she was wrong or simply didn't understand why those concerns were irrelevant. Hermione would only be staying at the Manor a few days. Her parents were at a dentist conference in northern England and wouldn't be returning until Saturday, and they'd returned from school on a Wednesday. When her parents returned she could use the portal to go back to the Granger home.

After getting to know her biological father and her brother, while she loved them both she wasn't as fond of their high society life or of all those ridiculous trappings that came with being 'Sacred 28'. She adored Theo, and loved spending time with him and doing all sorts of muggle and magical activities with him. He'd been so patient and helpful when teaching her to fly a broom. To her, he really was the best part of this whole being a Nott thing.

"I told Dad not even huge bookshelves full of old books could make you want to stay here," she turned to see her brother leaning against the doorway with a smile on his lips. "You already want to go back to the Grangers' house."

"It's nothing personal," she began.

"I get it," he shrugged, entering her room to sit on the bed next to her, "The Grangers are really great. Our parents gave you the best life by giving you to them. The society the Notts are in is really…obnoxious. All this Sacred 28 stuff is only great if you're not one. Well, mostly. I don't think Blaise would want to be Sacred 28 but almost everyone else in Slytherin and probably Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would want to trade places with you."

"The more our father talks about this New Year's Ball the more I want to rebel," Hermione admitted. Theo laughed and she smiled, relieved he wasn't offended.

"You are _such_ a Gryffindor," he teased. "But you should look on the bright side."

"What's the bright side?"

"Blaise's mum will be attending. So he'll probably want to rebel too. He could help you in your bid to escape it."

"And what about you?" She questioned.

"One of us has to be the good child," he winked. "So you have about a week and a half until Christmas to plan for how you're going to get out of attending. Once December 25 arrives it's going to be harder to plan."

"Thanks," she smiled at him and took his hand. "You're a good brother, Theo."

"Well thanks. You're a pretty fantastic sister. I hope to live up to your example."

Hermione rolled her eyes and gave him a nudge with her shoulder, "Prat."

"Lovable prat," he corrected her with a grin.

* * *

Despite living in Nott Manor for three days, Hermione hardly ever saw their father. She supposed that was part of what she disliked about the manor. Their father might challenge many aspects of pureblood society, but in most ways he was a typical pureblood 'Sacred 28' father. Often working, leaving the house elves to watch over his children was one massive example. She was rather certain that while it would have been nice to know Theo sooner, she was much better off being raised by two loving parents rather than one absent father and his army of house elves. Not that he didn't try to be a good father; but given the hours he put into work he wasn't present very often and Hermione wondered just how much he'd been around Theo as he was growing up.

Her parents returned around noon on Saturday and she used the portal to return home, relieved to be back in her house. "How were your midterms?" Her mother asked her.

"Pretty good overall," Hermione replied. "How was the conference?"

"Rather dull," Helen sighed, "but I daresay you could have guessed that." Hermione laughed. "Did you enjoy your time at Nott Manor?"

"I like spending time with Theo, obviously, but that house just doesn't feel like home to me," Hermione answered honestly. "It feels more like a museum than a home."

"Yes I can understand that," Helen nodded as she put clothes into the washer. "Well you always have us."

"I'm lucky he chose such great parents for me," Hermione smiled.

Helen pulled her daughter into a hug, "I think we're all lucky in that regard. How about we start the wash and then head to the store? We need groceries." Hermione nodded. It was nice to take a break from magic and just enjoy the muggle life and ways of doing things.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Am I supposed to get your sister a Christmas present?" Blaise asked Theo as they walked through the store together. "Pureblood etiquette says no but muggle etiquette says yes."

"Well she'll probably get you something so you probably should," Theo answered. "I bet Dean would like this book that talks about the history of magical paintings. Don't you think?"  
"Probably," Blaise nodded. "What do you think I should get her?"

"I'd avoid books unless it's something especially rare or special," Theo said. "She has loads of books already and it's easy to get her something she already has."  
Blaise thought about that as he scanned the shelves. He liked Hermione. She reminded him of Theo, in some ways, but the fact that she was a pureblood princess who didn't demand to be treated like one fascinated Blaise. He'd grown up around the Greengrasses and Pansy and all three had been raised to be proper pureblood princesses (say that five times fast) so Hermione's lack of refinement despite her station and her apparent disdain for that station was truly fascinating.

He found himself taking his studies much more seriously since she'd entered his and Theo's lives. Before her, no one had ever really cared about his grades or his schoolwork in general. She was also much more compassionate than he'd thought; especially as it pertained to house elves. Unlike Theo, Blaise could see her side of things. But then again, Blaise's family didn't have a house elf. They used to but he was very old and had died when Blaise was a toddler. Blaise only saw house elves when his mother married a new rich bloke so he'd seen enough to know that her calling them slaves was in many cases accurate.

He looked through the shelves of the rare bookshop Mr. Nott had taken them to; there were many first editions on its shelves and if you looked you could sometimes find a real hidden gem. He might not find anything for Hermione here, or he might find the perfect gift. So it was at least worth a thorough look.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione entered Nott Manor laden with Christmas treats. Her mother was baking up a storm and insisted Hermione took plenty of it to Nott Manor. "What's all this?" Blaise asked as he entered the kitchen to see Hermione putting things on the counter.

"Mum sent them over to fatten you lot up. She used to be completely anti-sugar but for some reason she's given that up and gone into overdrive making Christmas treats." Hermione opened a tin and offered it to him.

Blaise took a piece of shortbread, "Thanks," he said, taking a bite. "This is really good," he said.

"Dad's grandfather was from Scotland. It's an old family recipe. Where are my father and Theo?"

"Out shopping. I think for you," Blaise answered. "It's just me here."

"And you've been alone all morning?" Hermione asked, incredulous.

"Yeah," Blaise nodded. "I don't mind."

"Come on, you can come home with me," Hermione closed the tin and moved toward the doorway, "You can help me think up excuses not to attend the New Year's Eve ball."

"I can do that," Blaise smiled, glad he wasn't the only one who didn't want to attend. "How come you don't want to go?"

"Can you see _me_ in a room with Parkinson and the others?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Blaise answered.

"Without me hexing them?"

"Then no," Blaise shook his head. "But it'd probably be really funny," he offered before following her through the portal into the Granger house.

"As much as I'm sure it would amuse you, I'd rather just not attend," Hermione said as she led him into the kitchen. "Mum? This is Theo's friend Blaise."

"Nice to meet you," Helen greeted the young man.

"It's nice to meet you too," he bowed his head politely. "The shortbread taste great."

"I'm glad you like them," Helen smiled.

"Theo and my father are out so I thought Blaise could come over here. That mansion is rather lonely."

"Of course," Helen nodded, watching her daughter begin to give Blaise a tour of the house. Perhaps she should be concerned that her daughter seemed to draw only young men around her. But she'd heard Theo talk about his best friend Blaise before, so she at least had a frame of reference for the young man. Helen put the new batch of gingerbread into the oven, smiling to herself. It was nice to see her daughter being the thoughtful young woman they'd raised.

"So how does it work?" Blaise asked, looking at the television curiously.

"It's a little too complicated to explain properly," Hermione said, "but you know how wizarding photographs move?"

"Yeah," Blaise nodded.

"This is kind of like the muggle version, except the images change. Movies can be replayed if you buy these discs that they're loaded on," she explained, showing him the DVD she was about to put into the DVD player.

"Huh," Blaise said. "This little thing holds a movie?"

"Yes," she nodded. "The DVD player is connected to the television. It reads the data stored on the DVD and then transmits it to the television to play it."

"Muggles are really smart," Blaise said as she put the disc in.

"They're inventive. When you can't use magic you have to get through life somehow." Blaise nodded in agreement and she sat down on the couch with him, "This movie is called Jurassic Park. I think you'll like it."

"What's it about?" Blaise asked.

"Dinosaurs," she answered.

* * *

Blaise was very enthralled by the film. His eyes didn't leave the screen even when Helen gave them a bowl of popcorn and some sodas to accompany it. Hermione chanced a few glances at him throughout the film and was pleased to see how much he liked it. When the credits finally rolled Blaise looked at her, "That was absolutely brilliant."

"Theo was impressed by movies too."

"Can we watch another one?" Blaise asked.

Hermione looked at the clock, "Let me check with my mum. It's almost dinner time."

"That's fine dear. We can order take away. Any requests?"

"We never have pizza at Hogwarts," Hermione said. "And I have a feeling Blaise would approve of it."

"Should you check to see if Alexander and Theo are back? They're welcome to come for dinner too."

"I guess so," Hermione said, "Nanny!"

A house elf appeared, "Miss calls?"

"Are my father and Theo back yet?"

"Yes Miss. They is home."

"Can you please give them this message?" Hermione scribbled down that Blaise and she were watching movies and they were welcome to come for dinner as the Grangers would be ordering pizza. She folded the piece of paper and handed it to Nanny, who nodded and vanished.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"What should I get Blaise?" Hermione asked her brother. They were in a muggle store, brought there by her father. All of her gifts would be muggle in nature, which made buying for Blaise rather difficult. For Harry, Dean, Seamus, even Neville she had no problems finding gifts. Blaise, though, didn't have much contact with the muggle world and as far as she knew, little knowledge of it.

"I don't know," Theo shrugged. "He's Italian and very proud of it if that helps." Proud to be Italian. Well, it was more than she'd previously had. She resumed her efforts hunting for Blaise's gift with an idea percolating in her head.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Maybe we should tell our children," Narcissa said, casting a drying spell on her hair. "If the press gets hold of what we've been up to the past couple of months and breaks the story before we've told them they might be upset."

"I'm not sure Hermione would be all that bothered," Alexander Nott said as he exited the bathroom, removing his towel from around his waist to dry off his hair. "Same with Theo."

"Draco and I have no secrets anymore since Lucius died," Narcissa said. "I don't like lying to him."

"So we tell them," Alexander shrugged, sitting on the bed next to her, "What do we say? We're shag buddies?"

Narcissa smacked his arm as she stood up, "I was thinking something much less crude. More like telling Draco that you make me happy."

"Well I'm glad to do that," Alexander smiled. "You make me happy too."

"Yes that's rather apparent," she said, indicating his erection. "You're insatiable, you know."

"How do you think I wound up with a daughter at seventeen?" Alexander asked her. "It has been a long time since Aurelia died. Even longer since we'd last had sex and she was the only woman I've ever been with until you."

"Well as much as I'd like to help you with that, I need to get to my sister's house. My niece is watching Draco and I want to spend as much time with him as I can over the holidays. We won't see each other until the New Year's Eve ball, correct?"

"I think so," Alexander nodded.

"Are you sure it's a good idea, putting your daughter into a room with Pansy and the like?" Narcissa questioned. "She doesn't get along with them at school. I've certainly heard the things some of the pureblood girls say about her and I can't imagine Hermione would want to spend an entire evening with them putting on fake smiles and the like."

"It is her heritage," Alexander pointed out.

"I think she'd argue her heritage is wholly muggle," Narcissa reminded him. "You might be doing things the pureblood way to try and show her who she is but you really should remember that Hermione doesn't see herself as a pureblood. She still looks at herself as a muggleborn."

"Keeping an eye on my daughter?" He asked, surprised at her knowledge of Hermione.

"I was concerned about how she might be handling the news about her Sacred 28 heritage," Narcissa admitted as she finished getting dressed, "so I've been keeping an eye on her. But from what I've overheard from Blaise and Theo's conversations, your daughter is not the pureblood princess her heritage would suggest and she's quite happy not to be."

"I'll keep that in mind," Alexander said. "You're a good teacher, you know."

"I came to think so after I heard my students say so," Narcissa smiled. She walked back to the bed and leaned over to kiss him. "I'm going to tell Draco about us. So our secret won't be secret much longer."

"Fine with me," he shrugged, "Enjoy your holiday with your family."

"You too," she reminded him before leaving the hotel room.

Alone in the muggle hotel room Alexander fell back on the bed. Maybe he shouldn't expect so much from his daughter. He hadn't thought much about how she saw herself vs how everyone else saw her. Purebloods would see her as a pureblood but of course Hermione didn't see things that way. He was embarrassed that somehow he'd missed that rather obvious point. He got dressed. He'd make things right with his daughter as soon as he could.


	21. Stupid Rules!

**A/N- Here's a nice big chapter. The kids find out about Narcissa and Alexander and New Year's Eve arrives and then there's a quidditch game. The pacing in this feels a little off to me but I've worked it as much as I can without making things way too long. Happy reading!**

* * *

"You're shagging Nott?" Draco asked, shocked. He'd never expect such behavior from his mother.

"Yes I am," Narcissa nodded. "He makes me happy, dear. I didn't have much of that with Lucius."

No of course she didn't. His father wasn't one to be particularly affectionate and his mother experienced even less affection than Draco had, which was to say almost none at all. "So long as he makes you happy I don't care," Draco shrugged. "Unless he doesn't treat you right. Then I have a problem with it."

Narcissa smiled, privately very relieved. "How was your time with Tonks?"

"Fun," Draco answered. "She took me to an arcade and we played games. I'm getting better at them."

"I'm glad you had fun," Narcissa smiled, "Have you started your homework?"

"Tonks is going to help with the wolfsbane project. Potter thought we should look at the laws at the time the potion was created and Tonks said she can get us copies of the laws and changes to them that went into place after the potion was created."

"Sounds like he's pretty smart." She distinctly recalled the complaining when he'd first been paired with Harry Potter in potions class. It rather amused her to see him get on with the other boy now. That would send Lucius into a tizzy.

"Yeah he's much smarter than he looks. Helps he's hanging around Granger all the time," Draco said. The first clue for Narcissa that Hermione didn't put more stock in pureblood society was when Draco had come home for the summer and in telling her about his time at school, consistently called the young witch Granger when referring to her. When she asked why he didn't call her Nott, Draco had shrugged and said that the young witch had told everyone she was still a Granger. Her 'new' status didn't mean anything other than she had a biological wizard brother and father.

Of course that didn't mean much to Narcissa at the time, but when she'd received her roster it was Hermione _Granger_ not Nott written down. That was when she'd started to notice that the witch really had no interest in pureblood society and she didn't bother to hide it at all. Having been the good pureblood daughter her entire life, Narcissa was very intrigued by the way Hermione opted to forge her own path. It reminded her very much of Andromeda. Andi had always had that fire that saw her ultimately ignore her parents' wishes and marry a muggleborn wizard for love. Hermione wasn't exactly like Andi, but if Alexander pushed his daughter hard enough then Narcissa could imagine the young witch pulling away from her father. Which Narcissa knew was the last thing her lover wanted and was the reason she'd opted to warn him.

"What's for dinner?" Draco asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Andi invited us over for pizza," Narcissa answered. "I thought that sounded better than us eating dinner alone. Now go wash up sweetheart. We leave in half an hour."

"Okay," Draco said, heading upstairs to clean up and get changed.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Have you finished any of your homework yet?" Petunia Dursley asked Harry and Dudley over dinner.

"I finished my Transfiguration work today," Harry answered. "I got some headway on my Defense work too."

"Dudley?" Vernon asked his son.

"I got my history paper finished," Dudley responded.

"Tomorrow night is the office Christmas party," Vernon said. "You two don't have to attend but we won't be here for dinner."

"Okay," Harry said. His aunt's face said quite clearly that _she_ didn't want to attend, which Harry found amusing. His aunt was much more likable since the curses and hexes had been lifted.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Theo stared at his father. He really didn't understand it. Lucius Malfoy had nearly killed Hermione, and here was their father shagging the bastard's widow. Hermione didn't see it quite that way, but she didn't understand why her father continued to limit himself to purebloods when he didn't have to. Perhaps he wasn't quite as progressive as he claimed to be. Either way, it had nothing to do with her so she didn't really care all that much.

Except that she could see it upset Theo, which was why she spoke, "You're sleeping with our professor?"

Blaise watched all of this feeling sympathy for the pair. He could relate to this. Alexander nodded, "I am," he answered. "It's just a physical arrangement to soothe the loneliness. She knows I don't want to get married again and she doesn't want to either. We're trying to keep it quiet."

"Okay then why tell us?" Theo asked.

"Because Narcissa was worried Skeeter or some other gossip might find out about it," he answered. "So she's telling her son. I thought it best to tell you two just in case."

"Malfoy won't be coming to live with us will he?" Theo asked, his brow wrinkled at the thought.

"No he won't," Alexander promised.

"At least there's that," Theo said.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Christmas morning Harry woke with a grin. This was going to be the best Christmas ever. He checked his clock to see that it was just after seven in the morning. He fed Hedwig and exited his room. Dudley was just waking up. "Hey Dud. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Harry," Dudley sat up in his bed, "are Mum and Dad up yet?"

"I don't know. I checked on you first. It's a little after seven so I'd guess they are," Harry answered.

"Let's check," Dudley got out of bed and yanked his covers back into place before exiting his bedroom. Presents on Christmas morning were one of his favorite things in life.

* * *

Petunia and Vernon were already downstairs, Petunia having made tea for the two of them. "Present time!" Dudley declared.

"Go on in you two," Petunia told the boys, "We'll be right in."

Under the Dursley tree was not just the presents for the Dursleys but all of the presents sent to Harry from his magical friends too. He had a very large pile, "Wow you're popular," Dudley said.

"It's a new phenomenon," Harry said. "I've got more friends now that I'm spending more time with Hermione and Theo and less with Ron." He did have an impressive amount of gifts. From Blaise there was a Ballycastle Bats shirt. Harry noted with amusement that Theo had meanwhile sent him a Montrose Magpies shirt. "Those two are ridiculous," Harry laughed.

"Who are the Magpies and the Bats?" Dudley asked.

"They're quidditch teams. Hermione's brother Theo has grown up a Montrose Magpies fan but his best friend Blaise is a Ballycastle Bats fan. They know I grew up in the muggle world and they're campaigning for me to follow their teams. The match they're taking me to see is against one another, actually," Harry said. "I'm looking forward to it. Although maybe I should tell Hermione about their gifts to me."

"Why would she care, dear?" Petunia asked.

"She told them both not to pressure me into picking their team on the train ride home," Harry grinned, "and you should see the way Blaise cowers when she yells at them."

"Is she really that scary?" Dudley asked, looking doubtful.

"She's his best friend's sister and easily the best student in our year," Harry answered. "She is definitely scary."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The New Year's Eve Ball found Hermione in the Nott family library sitting in a nook reading. Attending the ball had been loosely translated, by Hermione, to mean simply be in Nott Manor during the party. She'd given attending a go but seeing her father be so fake to the guests was beyond the pale. She'd retreated to the library. She might as well try to enjoy herself. And what Hermione most enjoyed were books.

It was about an hour into the party when she heard someone enter the library. Thinking it was likely Blaise or Theo she paid it no mind and didn't even bother looking up. "Oh! I'm sorry. I thought no one was in here," Hermione looked up to see Daphne Greengrass staring at her.

"Are you trying to hide from the party too?" Hermione asked her.

"Desperately. It's bad enough I have to share a dorm with Pansy and the older girls. I don't need to be forced to endure them being idiots about boys and faking their laughs and interest in quidditch all in the hopes of securing a betrothal contract," Daphne looked at the bookshelves, "I was hoping to grab a good book and hide out in here. But if I'm in the way…"

"No not at all," Hermione sat up in her nook, "Grab a book and join me. It'd be nice to not be alone in here. It's kind of creepy at night."

"Thanks," Daphne smiled genuinely. It struck Hermione that she'd never actually seen Daphne smile before. She was so used to Daphne looking like the 'Ice Queen' she'd been labeled by the boys and Daphne's actual smile was completely different from that persona.

"I hate quidditch too," Hermione said. "Theo and Blaise want to attend a professional match before we go back to Hogwarts and they've invited Harry. I'm dreading it. It's bad enough having to attend all the Gryffindor and Slytherin matches because Harry and Theo are on the teams. Why do I need to watch people I don't even know play?"

"Oh Merlin and the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin over a stupid game!" Daphne exclaimed, making Hermione smile. It was nice to meet someone who also hated the sport.

"I love my brother, and Harry's my best friend, but they really do take it to ridiculous extremes," Hermione agreed.

"Does Gryffindor act like someone died if their team loses too?" Daphne asked as she plucked a book from the shelf and walked back over to the window nook.

"Yes," Hermione rolled her eyes. "And the boys always say witches are so dramatic but the way they act losing to Slytherin is like someone murdered their entire family."

"Slytherin is just as bad," Daphne sat down, "but the worst part is all the girls fawning over the quidditch players like they're _sooo_ irresistible. Pansy is horrid. She gets this fake giggly laugh and bats her eyelashes like a fool. It's an embarrassment to womankind."

Hermione laughed. Her brother had described Daphne as Slytherin's biggest irritant but from what she'd seen Daphne wasn't that way at all. "How's your potions project going?" She asked Daphne.

"Seamus is basically useless at research," Daphne complained. "I find it very unfair everyone gets paired with someone at a similar skill level except I have to babysit the misbehaving student."

"I do too," Hermione said. "Blaise is afraid of me though so that helps."

"Maybe I should try that," Daphne mused. "I've tried being a bitch but that doesn't seem to have helped things. I haven't tried fear though."

"Fear is very underrated when dealing with idiot boys," Hermione smiled. Daphne laughed. "If it really bugs you though, complain to Professor Fox. Surely he'd change you to a new partner."

Daphne had her doubts about that, "Would he? He says he initially assigned partners based on our grades last year but if that was true, then you and I should have been partners first. Not you and Theo."

Hermione hadn't thought about that before, "You're right! Why would he do that?"

"I don't know," Daphne shrugged. "But it doesn't give me faith he'd give me a capable partner."

They talked a little more before settling into their books. Hermione appraised Daphne's gown. It was a ball gown, but she clearly had cast a spell to make it less poofy so that she could sit properly in the nook with Hermione. Hermione's gown was more demure, a dark green to Daphne's dark blue, with a much slimmer skirt. "Do you read muggle fashion magazines?" Daphne asked Hermione after a bit.

"Not particularly no," Hermione answered.

"I would love to get a hold of some. I could pay you," Daphne offered. "If you could get some for me in the muggle world."  
"I could do that," Hermione nodded, surprised at the request. Not just of the request, but of the fact that Daphne was the witch her brother had described as the most annoying in Slytherin. As the elitist; the snobbiest of all the snobs. Daphne wasn't acting that way at all. Daphne was more low key than Blaise and Draco, for sure, and way nicer than Pansy. After a moment to properly phrase the question Hermione decided to ask, "Why does my brother describe you as the most entitled person in Slytherin when you've been nothing but nice to me since entering the library?"

Daphne blushed before answering, "My parents believe they should choose a partner for their children. I refuse to be treated like cattle. And the best way to assure my parents can make no betrothal contract is to take on the characteristics that make boys run away from girls. If Theo thinks I'm the most entitled person in Slytherin then I'd say my efforts are working nicely."

"There's no other way to get out of it?" Hermione asked.

"You had to come to this ball despite having a whole other house to live in and family to live with," Daphne pointed out.

"True," Hermione nodded. "Still, don't you get tired of pretending to be someone you're not?"

"You do," Daphne argued. "Just because you were raised in the muggle world doesn't mean you're not a pureblood and stuck in the same traditions I am."

Hermione bit her lip. Daphne made some good points. "I suppose that's fair," Hermione blushed slightly before opening up, "I do get tired, though, straddling two worlds like this. I do want to get to know my father. And part of that is knowing his world. But the rules are just so stupid!" Daphne laughed. "Well they are," Hermione insisted. "And they're so rigid. The rules for formal dress are especially outrageous. How long a hem line _must be_. How much of your arm can be bare, whether you can expose your neck or not. Sweet Merlin it's like they want us all to dress like nuns."

"What is a nun?" Daphne asked, not familiar with the term. Hermione explained it and Daphne laughed, "That does sound accurate," she agreed. "That's why I want muggle fashion magazines. I want to see what they wear."

"Well I'll see what I can do," Hermione said. She was sure her mother would help her collect a good assortment for the pureblood witch.

"Thank you, Granger."

"You're welcome, Greengrass."

"Just don't be surprised if I'm an entitled bitch to you in public. I can't let anyone think otherwise or all my efforts will be ruined."

"Noted," Hermione smirked. She rather liked Daphne. "You can always come let your guard down around me, though. I'll keep your secret."

"Thanks. I'll remember that," Daphne said.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Draco Malfoy watched as his mother gazed at Alexander Nott who was doing his hosting duties walking around the room chatting up the guests. There was longing in her eyes. And jealousy whenever a female witch touched his arm, which most of them did. It was acceptable contact in pureblood etiquette, but it was rather amusing that his mother still looked ready to hex them. When Nott approached Narcissa, Draco noticed his mother checking her appearance to be sure she looked her best.

What caught Draco's attention, though, was how Nott's hand went to the small of Narcissa's back which was decidedly inappropriate contact. It seemed to soothe his mother's agitation, though. Maybe Nott just wanted to assure her he wasn't looking at other witches. That seemed plausible. Though Draco was far enough away he couldn't hear what they were saying.

* * *

"You look beautiful tonight," Alexander said when he'd arrived next to Narcissa.

She turned into him and looked up at him, "You think so?"

"I do," he nodded. "I'd show you but it's not exactly proper conduct to open one's fly in the ballroom."

Narcissa laughed before growing serious, "Your daughter is missing."  
"She's in the library," Alexander said. "She did the greetings and then begged off. That's all I asked of her."

"I thought you were going to talk to her," Narcissa said, surprised he'd made her attend.

"I was, and I did," Alexander said. "But her parents got invited to a New Year's party and it was either attend a party with loads of muggles she doesn't know and teenagers she doesn't like or stay here. I told her she could spend all night in the library if she wanted. She quite liked that idea. An evening surrounded by books is better company to her than a room full of people. And I have a house elf taking her food and drink every so often."

"Oh," Narcissa said, taking a sip of her wine. "I'm glad it worked out."

"All thanks to you," Alexander said, stepping closer to her. "Do you perchance have a midnight kiss arranged already?"

"No not as of yet. Are you offering?"

"I would be honored to be your first kiss of the New Year," he smiled. "Our kids all know. I don't really care who else does."

Narcissa returned his smile with one of her own, "I would be delighted to have my first kiss of the New Year be with you."

Alexander leaned close to her and whispered into her ear, "For the record you're the hottest witch here."

She knew that wasn't true but she smiled all the same. He thought so and that was what mattered to her. "Although I do forsee a problem," she said seriously.

"What?" Alexander asked.

"How do I limit myself to one kiss when you always make me want more?" Her smile was rather large and Alexander took satisfaction in putting it there. For her entire marriage to Lucius he'd never seen her smile in public. Well, unless it was a fake smile.

"We could have a sleepover," he suggested.

"I suppose that's one way to satisfy your oversexed libido," she teased.

"If you find another let me know," he smirked. The band started playing a song and he offered her his hand, "May I have this dance?"

"Yes you may," Narcissa sat her glass down and took his hand. A smiling Alexander led her onto the dance floor and pulled her into his arms.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione and Daphne stayed in the library until midnight, reading their chosen books. Occasionally they'd talk briefly about something but most of the time was a shared silence as they lost themselves in their reading. It was a comfortable silence that put Hermione at ease. Daphne was the first pureblood aside from Theo to achieve that. Hermione shared the food and drink brought by the house elves for her with the blonde. "I suppose we should rejoin the party," Hermione mused as she looked at the clock.

"Yes it's time," Daphne agreed, standing and putting the book back into the bookshelf. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"Thanks for the company. And it's nice to know I'm not the only witch who finds all these rules stupid."

"No you're definitely not," Daphne chuckled.

* * *

They exited the library separately and rejoined the party only for Daphne to be surprised when as midnight rang out Alexander Nott kissed Narcissa Malfoy. But she kept her ice queen mask in place, though she noticed Draco, Hermione, and Theo were not surprised by it. So they knew, at least. It was an interesting turn of events but Daphne wasn't bothered by it. She didn't care who Nott was sleeping with. If Narcissa didn't favor her son in class why would she favor Nott's children? Although she was sure someone would complain about it.

"So how was your evening?" Hermione asked her brother.

"Fine," Theo shrugged, "I don't mind these parties. Blaise and I just goofed off. How was your time in the library?"

"Enjoyable," Hermione smiled. "Much preferable to an evening watching you two idiots."

"Hey only Blaise is an idiot," Theo protested.

"I am not!" Blaise frowned at Theo. Hermione rolled her eyes.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Harry was excited to go to the quidditch match. The day of it Alexander arrived with Hermione and Harry greeted them at the door. "Hi Hermione, Mr. Nott."

"Hi Harry," Hermione hugged him, "Thank you for the pen. It's very nice."

"I thought you'd like it," Harry smiled. "I love the video game you got me." Hermione smiled, pleased he'd liked it. "Thanks again for taking me to the game," Harry said to Alexander Nott.

"You're welcome," Nott responded, "Go on and get your coat. It'll be chilly at the game even with some warming spells."

"I apparently get my talents with charms from my mother," Hermione whispered to Harry, who smirked.

* * *

After saying goodbye to his aunt and Alexander promising to return him in time for dinner Harry left the Dursley home, Mr. Nott apparating them back to Nott Manor. "Wow this is Nott Manor? It's huge!"

"Yes it is," Hermione nodded. "You should see the library. It's so big and wonderful."

Harry chuckled. That was Hermione. "How do we get to the game?"

"Floo. Hermione says you've flooed before."

"Yeah but not very well," Harry said. "I didn't like it."

"This time will be fine," Alexander assured him.

Harry heard running and looked toward the grand staircase to see Theo and Blaise running down, "Hi Harry," they both greeted him.

"Have you chosen your team?" Blaise asked.

"Nope," Harry answered. "And I brought your presents."

Hermione looked at Harry, confused. Harry handed her the boxes. When she saw what was inside of them she glared at her brother and Blaise, "We talked about this."

Blaise swallowed hard and cowered behind Theo, "Um, sorry?" He squeaked.

Theo tried to spin it, "I just wanted to give Harry some quidditch merchandise."

"You could have bought him an England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales shirt," she responded.

"Uh…" Theo blinked stupidly. He'd not thought of that. "I'm sorry?" He tried.

"Why are you asking me?" Hermione asked. "Surely you know if you're actually sorry or not."

"Definitely sorry and we will fix this," Theo promised. "Right Blaise?"

"Right," Blaise nodded his head rapidly, making Harry struggle to not laugh. He loved Hermione. She was his best friend. But she wasn't as scary as Blaise was acting like she was.

A bemused Alexander watched all of this while struggling not to laugh. There was something about the way Hermione could intimidate her brother and Blaise that was just terribly amusing to him. Aurelia Nott had been a very kind woman. The temper in his daughter was all him and he knew it. He could imagine how Aurelia would berate him for passing on that temper to their daughter.

* * *

Once Theo and Blaise had their coats, and the gifts for Harry had been put away, Alexander took them to the floo room. "Enunciate clearly," he reminded them. "No getting lost. Theo, you go first."

They arrived at the stadium without any problems. They made their way to their seats and Alexander bought the four of them some warm apple cider. "Are there many of these stadiums?" Hermione asked.

"No," Alexander answered. "Most of them are designed to be taken down after matches. It's not easy to have a standing quidditch stadium. One or two countries on the continent have a standing national stadium they use to arrange quidditch matches, but teams put together temporary stands for the most part. Hogwarts is the closest you'll get to a proper stadium like muggles think of one, I daresay."

Hermione nodded in understanding. Her father had taken her to Wembley a few times over the years, and to Stamford Bridge where his beloved Chelsea played, so she knew what muggle stadiums were like. The Montrose Magpies' stadium wasn't very much like a stadium at all. It was more like some quickly erected seating on either side of a pitch. "Warm enough?" Alexander asked her.

"So far so good," Hermione nodded.

He knew she wasn't interested in quidditch. He admired how despite her dislike of the sport, she was willing to suffer through it for Harry's benefit. She'd had the option to not attend. But she'd foreseen Harry enjoying it, and so she'd said she'd go with. It was that nobility that he imagined saw her being put in Gryffindor. But he was still confident in his World Cup plans. There was much more to the World Cup than quidditch, after all, and he was sure Hermione would enjoy those other aspects.


	22. Potions, Purebloods, and Quidditch!

**A/N- A faster update! We finish winter break and return to school and Hermione makes some new friends. And learns about other perspectives on pureblood society in Britain. And the completion of the potions projects, plus Snape's thoughts on them. We're going to start rapidly approaching the summer now so hang onto your butts :-)**

 **Also thanks for the lovely reviews. It's always nice to be appreciated.**

* * *

The match was three hours, and Harry was aware Hermione opened a book after about 10 minutes of the game. He was very into it though. The Magpies ultimately beat the Bats 590-550 and it had been fantastic, watching professional seekers playing. He felt like he'd learned an awful lot that he could use in his next game for Gryffindor.

Upon returning to Nott Manor, while Theo and Blaise argued about various fouls committed in the game against their teams with Blaise adamant his team had been the victim of match fixing, Hermione gave Harry the grand tour. The house was huge, as was the library. Harry thought it looked kind of like a museum, and more than a few portraits were hostile to his being there. "No wonder you don't like it here," he said after Hermione had silenced the third portrait to complain about Harry's presence and Hermione being raised by muggles.

"Cantankerous Nott's portrait loves to tell me what a traitor I am to the family name," Hermione rolled her eyes, "but they're _heritage_ so they get to stay. For my money I'd burn every last painting. Why remember what proud bigots my ancestors were?"

"Well you knew Mr. Nott isn't exactly the perfect wizard."

"He's a proper Slytherin alright," Hermione frowned. "I think my bravery and compassion are pure Granger. There's none of either trait in the Nott bloodline."

"But you've got Theo," Harry said.

"The best part of this whole mess," Hermione agreed, "even if he's annoying me today. Actually for the past week."

"Culture clash?"

"That and he's an annoying teenage boy," Hermione mused, making Harry laugh. "It really is more the way he is around Blaise. They're both fine on their own. Put them together though and it's like they're both seven years old again."

"Ah like Dudley and his friends," Harry nodded in understanding.

"I'm presuming it's some sort of male thing because there's no other explanation for it," Hermione said. Harry smirked. She said it with such scientific certainty that it amused him.

"What did they do to earn your ire?"

"Fed Crookshanks a hair loss potion," Hermione frowned. "He could have died if he went outside but they just found it funny. So I'm doing my best to ignore them both. I'm still upset."

Harry thought she had every right to be. "Could he be fixed?"

"My father bought a special hair growth potion for cats. Which of course makes Theo and Blaise unsure why I'm upset since it's such an 'easy' fix," Hermione folded her arms. They just didn't get it.

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Hermione walked along the train corridor. The return to Hogwarts always felt longer when made over winter break, for some reason. She arrived at the bathroom but it was occupied so she settled near the window, gazing out at the rolling countryside. The bathroom door opened and Daphne Greengrass exited, "Granger," she nodded.

"Greengrass," Hermione responded. "I got the magazines," she said in a low voice. "I'll slip them to you in Arithmancy." Daphne's eyes found hers and for just barely a second Hermione saw the witch's guard drop. But it quickly went back up. Hermione entered the bathroom. She found Daphne interesting. She'd asked her father about the other 'Sacred 28' families and he'd given her Cantankerous Nott's book to look through as well as some other historical documents and books. He seemed relieved to know that Hermione was curious about her heritage; relieved enough he didn't question _what_ she wanted to know or _why_ she wanted to know it.

The conversation with Daphne at the New Year's Eve party had given Hermione a new perspective. As much as she criticized the pureblood upper crust for acting like someone they weren't, Daphne was right. Hermione was doing the same thing. Whereas Daphne tried to fit that perfect princess mold and pretended to be an extreme version of it, Hermione fit the mold of the ultimate rebel. Being muggle for the sake of being muggle. Mocking and belittling the purebloods who played by the rules either in words or actions. Okay, maybe that was a little extreme but Hermione did feel rather hypocritical. Daphne didn't feel free to be herself but did Hermione? That answer was also a no. Perhaps that was partly why she got annoyed with Theo at times. He was happy to attend the balls and do the song and dance required of purebloods because all those rules favored pureblood men. His actions weren't regulated by pureblood code unless it referred to courting a pureblood female. Theo could show up naked to a ball and no one would say boo to him. If Daphne did the same it would be the scandal of the century and her father would be a laughingstock. Hermione loathed hypocrisy and Theo used that same buzz word as her father. It was their 'heritage' and it was something to be proud of.

All of that was why Hermione wanted to learn more about the history of her family and the other Sacred 28 families in England. To understand where these egos came from and why they persisted. The Malfoys had vineyards, the Greengrasses were a big printing family; and not just books but newspapers and magazines, though they no longer held shares in the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. Daphne's father Aidan Greengrass had sold both for a massive fortune when he took over the company and began to focus more on the book printing side of it.

The Notts were into textiles, historically; not just cotton and wool but also dragon scales, dragonhide, and the skin of other magical beasts. Hermione did find the history of the Nott family interesting. But boy did her ancestors specialize in blowing smoke up their own arses. Each accomplishment was filled with praise for it and an attempt was made to paint it as especially brilliant and innovative, even if it was stolen from muggles. And several accomplishments had been.

Hermione returned to the compartment she was sharing with her brother and friends to see them playing poker. "You want in?" Dean asked her as he shuffled the deck.

"Sure," Hermione nodded, sitting down next to Harry.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Upon returning to Hogwarts Hermione's focus was primarily on the potions project and her now very displeased attitude toward Blaise Zabini. She made a point to wait after class one day to talk to their professor, "Professor Fox?"

"Yes Miss Granger?" He asked.

Hermione looked at him quizzically, "Why didn't you pair Daphne Greengrass and I up at the start of the year? We had the best grades last year."

Fox blinked, "Yes you did. But I thought it would be better to keep you separate."

"I find it unfair to make us babysit your problem students when working together we'd actually probably perform better and even be able to work on harder potions," Hermione said. Thinking about Daphne's complaints about Seamus she had understood the blonde's points. And the more Hermione thought about it, the more Hermione had realized that she and Daphne would probably be even further ahead of their peers than they already were if they worked together. She found that very unfair. If she and Daphne could do better, why hold them back? It was antithetical to wanting your students to succeed.

Joseph Fox blinked in surprise. He'd not expected Hermione Granger to be upset with the partnerships. Zabini was her brother's friend, after all. "Are you displeased with your partnership Miss Granger?"

"I want to get the best education I can, Professor Fox. I don't hate working with Blaise, but I do dislike being his babysitter. I'm in class to learn, not babysit my brother's friend," she said. "I do enough of that on breaks."

Fox nodded. "Very well. When I next change the partners up after the assignments are turned in I'll take this into account."

"Thank you," Hermione said before putting her bag on her shoulder and leaving the classroom.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Class presentations were a new experience for the students in Fox's potions class. In fact they were so new that Snape sat in on the class, watching them from the back of the room. "Thank you Miss Greengrass and Mr. Finnegan," Fox said. "You both did good work on Felix Felicis. Next up is Miss Granger and Mr. Zabini."

Hermione and Blaise went up to the front. "We worked on love potions and frankly, they're not even real." Daphne glanced at her former head of house to see he had a pleased smirk on his face as Hermione spoke. "They don't create love. They create obsession and they rob the person taking it of their free will completely."

"Yeah they're really nasty," Blaise agreed.

* * *

Harry squirmed as Hermione gave her presentation. He didn't know what his mother was dosed with; though Snape reckoned it wasn't Amortentia. Different love potions had different effects, after all. Amortentia completely changed a person's personality but others were more subtle. He had the dreadful sense he'd never really be able to know who his mother was since the only people who really knew her and loved her before the love potion had been pushed away by Lily after she'd been dosed with it.

Daphne was impressed with how thorough and well-argued Hermione's presentation was. She knew Blaise wasn't much help; she'd had study groups with him before and he was not particularly talented with research. Or motivated, for that matter. In fact he hardly spoke during the presentation. Like Daphne, Hermione delivered it on her own.

* * *

When classes let out they all exited the classroom, leaving Snape and Fox behind. "Interesting assignment," Snape said. "But the variety in quality was shocking."

Given Weasley and Crabbe had said truth potion was good because it forced people to tell the truth and ended their presentation, Fox had to agree. "Yes I think I underestimated just how few of them are even interested in potions."

"Potion making requires two things that teenagers tend to lack," Snape smirked, "patience and concentration. Very few of your third years have those qualities."

"Still, Miss Granger and Miss Greengrass gave outstanding presentations even if their partners clearly lacked their interest and enthusiasm," Fox said. "They researched their potions well."

"Yes I need to think on their obvious skill in brewing. I want to foster growth and not let them be stuck behind with their less motivated peers," Snape tastefully said. He'd actually been thinking about it since learning Hermione had brewed polyjuice the previous year. He had no doubts that Daphne probably could as well; he had a few ideas but nothing concrete as of yet. "I will worry about the two witches. You've got your hands full with Crabbe and Weasley."

"Yes I do," Fox sighed. "Any advice?"

"Just survive it and ignore them when they insult the art," Snape said. "It's all you can do, sadly. Potions is very underappreciated by most students. But the flip side of that are students like Miss Greengrass and Miss Granger. As irritating as it was to see her hand in a parchment two feet longer than I asked for, it was easy to see her delight in potion making and desire to be the best she could."

"Are you thinking of putting them in an advanced class?"

"More like extra credit," Snape mused. "I don't miss teaching the lesser skilled of the students but teaching the two young ladies one or two nights a week in my potions lab would certainly let them tackle the more dangerous potions their classmates aren't anywhere close to brewing."

"If I made them partners they could work on it in potions class too," Fox suggested. "With the exception of a handful of potions that require time on the fire, they'd fly through my curriculum if they were paired up. Part of the reason I didn't partner them up in the first place."

"I'll check my schedule and if I can make it work I'll call them into my office to discuss it," Snape said. He stood, "And Joseph, don't beat yourself up too much. Most of the other pairings did a pretty good job even if they didn't quite hit the mark. Potter and Malfoy, Parkinson and Patil, Brown and Davis all did well."

"Thank you sir," Fox smiled, pleased the headmaster appreciated what he'd been trying to do.

* * *

"Hermione?" Lavender asked.

"Yes?" Hermione asked her.

"I have some follow-up questions on love potions," Lavender said. "Could we maybe talk about it tonight in our dorm?"

"Sure," Hermione nodded.

"I did the presentation too," Blaise gave her a charming smile, "I'll happily talk to you about it, say over lunch in Hogsmeade?"  
Lavender gazed at Blaise like he had two heads, "We all know Hermione wrote that presentation, Zabini. Not you."

It took everything in Hermione not to laugh at the way Lavender had so effectively shot down Blaise. It was really rather hilarious, given how arrogant he was about his charm and ability to woo people. Not that he was wooing anyone at 13 but Blaise was a wannabe lothario, hence Hermione's struggle to maintain her composure. "That was rude," Blaise muttered before walking away. Hermione gave up the fight and laughed at his sulking. It was good to see someone put Blaise back in his place.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione and Daphne practically bit the headmaster's hand off when he offered them the extra lessons. That pleased Snape. He didn't hate teaching, overall. He just hated teaching students who didn't want to learn or appreciate his craft. Too many students treated his class as something to misbehave in and Snape had always hated that. He began his private lessons by teaching them how to brew Amortentia. Though highly illegal (Snape had special dispensation for Hermione and Daphne to brew it from Madam Bones), it had several important techniques he wanted them to experience and learn and if they ever wanted to go after their potions mastery, this was a potion they'd have to brew to earn it. Giving them a dry run felt important to him.

This also meant reading up more on the potion and what the individual ingredients did. Hermione looked at Daphne as they worked on the potion one evening, "How is homosexuality treated in the magical world?"

Daphne blinked, "What brought about that question?"

"Well one of the case studies Professor Snape gave me of this potion being used in the past was of a witch, Estella Jewkes, using Amortentia on another witch by the name of Lisette Crispen. But it's very factual with no context. In the muggle world being gay is rather controversial. Some people care way too much and in a very negative way so I was wondering what it's like in the magical world."

"Oh," Daphne tilted her head in thought at how to answer Hermione's question. "Well if I told my parents I was gay they wouldn't be happy about it. But wizarding society as a whole wouldn't really blink. It's not a common thing but blood is what matters to families. So I guess my parents would have a bigger concern with any relationship of mine being pureblood."

"Blaise said some purebloods are racist."

"Oh there definitely are some very racist purebloods. I'm sure there's some homophobes too. But those are people more like your great-uncle Cantankerous Nott who you could never be 'pure enough' to satisfy," Daphne explained. "Most people are more concerned with your family name than your genitalia or race. Blaise is an acceptable pairing for me because he's a pureblood, no matter if he's black or of Italian history. You are an acceptable pairing for me because you're pureblood and a Nott, even though you're a woman."

"But werewolf or vampire is right out, no matter man or woman. No muggleborns or half-bloods either," Hermione said.

"Yep. You catch on quick," Daphne teased her with a wink. "Another of our rules you find stupid?"

"Yes but I was expecting to be told being gay was about as bad as being a half-blood," Hermione answered, "so I guess you could say I'm a little surprised."

"Well we can't be backwards on everything," Daphne deadpanned, making Hermione laugh.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

They worked with Snape a few hours three times a week and both witches enjoyed it as February turned to March. During Potions class Hermione and Daphne would make short work of their assignment and then read case studies about Amortentia for the remainder. Daphne was disgusted by the potion. It was every bit as vile as Hermione had said during their class presentation.

But she did enjoy working with her new partner. She was quick and like Daphne very interested in potions. It was refreshing, having someone she could connect with over potions finally. Although she found she liked talking to Hermione about more than potions. Daphne was swiftly developing an appetite for muggle fashion, and Hermione's mother would send monthly magazines to Hermione who would give them to Daphne.

With no one else to talk to about the magazines, Hermione became her ear as Daphne gushed about this dress or mocked this new style. Hermione, meanwhile, found herself having to learn about fashion from a very enthused Lavender and Parvati. The two witches were delighted to start explaining the finer points of fashion with her and Hermione, though she honestly wished that she could just have them sit with Daphne and go over the magazines instead, had to admit they both seemed thrilled that Hermione and them were talking about more than the occasional homework assignment.

And when Hermione was fed up of dealing with idiot boys (even her brother), it was nice to have Lavender and Parvati to vent to. They weren't the airheads Hermione had always assumed they were. "I really don't know why you have such hatred of your hair. People would kill to have curls like yours."

"It's unmanageable," Hermione frowned.

"Not if you use the right products," Parvati said, running her hands through Hermione's hair. "You have to work _with_ your hair, not against it. That's the key."

Hermione looked at those big pleading eyes of Lavender, sure that Parvati had a similar facial expression, and she sighed. Why did pouting work on her so well? She opened up her coin purse and tossed a couple galleons onto the bed, "Order the products you think I need."

Lavender squealed in delight and jumped off her bed to hug her roommate. Hermione shook her head, amused at the desire Lavender had to give her a makeover. "Just the hair, Lavender."

"You wouldn't need much makeup anyway," Parvati dismissed after rolling her eyes as Lavender began to clearly plot all the makeup she wanted to try. "Some lip gloss would just highlight your lips a little more."

Lavender stuck her tongue out at Parvati before Lavender bounced into the bathroom. Sometimes she really was surprised by her blonde roommate. Other times she acted exactly as expected. Perhaps Hermione had judged the two witches far too early into their relationships. True, neither witch was all that nice to her at first (well, mostly Lavender) but then Hermione wasn't exactly nice to them either.

Of the two, Parvati interested her more. While Hermione had thought Parvati was a half-blood, she had since learned that Parvati was actually not. She was a pureblood whose family had some muggle history both in India and in England (in other words, she had a few squibs who'd married muggles in her family tree) and so simply wasn't 'pure enough' for the likes of Parkinson and other Sacred 28 families. "Don't worry Hermione, I'll place the order. Lavender would buy every beauty product they have. She's my best friend but she's got a very disturbing love affair with makeup."

Hermione laughed at that. Then she grew serious, "You really don't think my hair is a lost cause?"

"Nope," Parvati answered. "That product you were using is good, sure, but there are better ones available. Don't worry. I'll take care of you. You'll love it when I'm done."

"Since when are you so good with hair?" Hermione asked.

"I want to be a fashion designer," Parvati confessed, "and part of that is learning about hair. Plus I can't use just any product on my hair either; not like Lav does. So I understand your problem. But don't worry. With a Patil on the case it will be solved quickly."

"Thanks Parvati," Hermione smiled.

"I do wonder why your sudden interest in fashion, though," Parvati said.

"I have a new acquaintance who's an aristocratic pureblood and very interested in muggle fashion," Hermione said. "But doesn't want anyone to know. She likes to talk to me about it and you know I don't have much knowledge to help her out on that front."

"So you're learning about fashion just to help someone else?" Parvati's voice was filled with awe. Hermione wondered if perhaps she didn't do as good a job hiding her disdain for fashion as she thought she was. "That's very Gryffindor of you," Parvati said after a moment's pause. "But Hermione, be careful. If you're always doing things to make others happy, you'll have nothing left for yourself."

"I'm not displeased with the situation," Hermione said. "I like you, after all. It's nice to get to know you in this new way." Parvati finished wrapping Hermione's hair in a scarf in a bid to help stop it from being so bushy in the morning and picked the galleons up off the bed, placing them in her coin purse. "Thank you, Parvati."

"You're welcome," Parvati smiled at her and sat back down on Hermione's bed, this time facing her. "And let me just say, I'm so glad Parkinson isn't my partner anymore in Potions. We got along alright in class but it took me great pains sometimes not to hex her."

"She has that effect on me too," Hermione laughed. "For some reason, though, Theo seems to not mind her."

"He's probably scared of her," Parvati smirked.

It was a sentiment she'd wondered about too. Hermione sighed, "I love Theo but sometimes he's just way too okay with all this pureblood nonsense. He doesn't see the problems with those stupid etiquette rules or even think the way the pureblood rules favor men over women is anything to be upset about."

"Well he's naïve," Parvati shrugged, "he's probably never once seen it from your perspective. Indian magical culture is a caste system like Indian muggle culture is. I guess that might be why I see the stupidity of pureblood Britain."

"Or maybe pureblood Britain is just stupid," Hermione muttered, making Parvati laugh. "Although I recently learned they're not inherently homophobic so they have that going for them."

"Ridiculous, isn't it?" Parvati asked. "Although I notice those saying the so-called aristocrats aren't homophobic are the same people who say they also aren't racist. White and heterosexual, every time."

"You think there's more bigotry than indicated?" Hermione asked, a thought she'd certainly had on the subject given some of the things Blaise had told her about his life.

"It's more subtle than the Death Eaters," Parvati said, "but I do think it's still there. Rather than insult your skin color or your sexuality they just use the acceptable outlet of targeting your ancestry. It's not my skin and/or sexuality that is the reason an arsehole would protest you dating me, it's simply that my blood is inferior. But then, don't racists also think their blood is superior?"

"Good point," Hermione nodded. "I was dubious on the racism thing already because I know Blaise has experienced racism in pureblood circles."

"Zabini would still be more accepted than I would," Parvati shook her head, "you've landed in a really fucked up social structure, Hermione."

"I know!" Hermione fell back on her bed with a huff, "Dating will be a nightmare. My father keeps getting betrothal requests and refusing them. If he weren't around, or worse was a monster, I don't know what I'd do." Parvati gave her a sympathetic smile before the bathroom door opened and Lavender exited in her pajamas. "Thanks for the help with my hair, Parvati," Hermione said as she stood to go brush her teeth.

"You're welcome," Parvati said. "I've got a catalog somewhere. I'll order some stuff for you tomorrow."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hermione and Daphne watched as Snape studied their potion, "Excellent work, both of you," he said. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you sir," Hermione smiled. She was enjoying these private lessons featuring complex potions. Fox was a good potions professor, but Hermione had to admit she enjoyed being tutored by Snape. Because he was such a hard man to please, his praise meant that much more.

"What will we be working on next?" Daphne asked.

"Well you've worked on studying Felix Felicis so why don't we brew that next?" Snape asked. The two potions had been his first choices because the two witches had been so thorough in their work researching them for Professor Fox's project.

"Sir about what Amortentia makes us smell," Hermione began, "is it true the smells of it are the things we're most attracted to?"

"Yes," Snape nodded. "It will change, over time. When I first smelled it at sixteen it was my crush at the time. When we brewed it this time I smelled completely different scents. It's not about true love or anything like that; Amortentia at its core is about obsession and lust. Hence the smells you smell changing over the years based on your attractions."

Both Hermione and Daphne leaned over the potion to smell it before both turned scarlet in embarrassment. Suppressing a smirk, Snape bottled the potion, "I'll keep this for proof of your talents. Now then, let's go over Felix Felicis."

* * *

The two witches sat down and Daphne pulled out her notes on the potion she'd researched. "Sir it takes six months to brew this," Hermione frowned, confused. They only had three months left of school.

"Yes," Snape nodded. "I will have to finish it myself. But don't worry, I will start a second batch around the time you leave the school so you'll both be able to finish the potion when school starts back up." Hermione smiled, glad that he'd already foreseen and solved that potential problem.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Narcissa Malfoy collapsed on top of her lover. "Have I mentioned how much I like it when you floo over?" She asked him.

"I think you said something last time," Alexander answered. "I can't say I recall, though. You were naked and I was very thoroughly distracted by that."

She laughed before leaning in to kiss him, "You're ridiculous."

"Do you have summer plans?"

"What do you have in mind?" Narcissa asked.

"I bought a box to watch the Quidditch World Cup from this summer. For my kids, obviously," he added. "Hermione's friends Harry, Dean, and Seamus will all be coming as will Blaise. I have plenty of room still. You and Draco could come if you want. We get the box for any and all matches we want to see and the kids get a chance to meet the teams that will play in the final."

"Draco would love that," Narcissa said. "Are you sure it wouldn't be too much of an imposition?"

"You are not an imposition," Alexander said. "It would help me to have another parent there to look after the kids and any seat not claimed is a bit of a waste if you ask me. Seamus' mother will be joining us as well but the more the merrier. It's a big box and I doubt all the kids will want to do all the same things."

"Shouldn't you invite some girls?"

"My daughter doesn't get on with many girls," Alexander said.

"She's taking extra potions lessons with Daphne Greengrass," Narcissa pointed out.

"A Greengrass though?" Alexander asked, dubious about that. He couldn't see his daughter getting on with any member of the Greengrass family.

"Did you ever see a Nott getting along with a Potter?" Narcissa asked him.

"That's a good point," he conceded. "I'd never have guessed that could happen."

"She seems to get on with the Brown girl and the Gryffindor Patil too. They might not be interested in the quidditch but they might be interested in mingling with international wizards and witches," Narcissa reasoned. "Plus Hermione might like not being the only person not interested in quidditch under the age of 18."  
Alexander laughed at that. When he calmed down he looked at her, "So will you come with us this summer?"

"I think Draco would very much enjoy seeing the World Cup. So I'd be delighted to come with you."

"Brilliant," he smiled, leaning in to kiss her. "And maybe I can get you to come on your own too."

"You have a filthy mind," she playfully scolded as they rolled in the bed.


End file.
